000000_BMS_ChoirProg

BEL CANTO BLACKSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL

Kate Foiles, Director Jan Blumenthal, Accompanist

Thursday, November 15, 2018

BEL CANTO

Taylor Anthony Skye Baker

Marija Grove Lily Gruss Ali Jones Poetry Kirk Nora Kuhlman Alexa Mayer Maggie McWhirt Katja Polanah Kehlenbeck Isabella Prevette Mary Rust Sriya Sridhar Audrey Stenger

Mary Bevan Aralyn Blake

Adriane Boerth Reagan Brown Katie Bushey Gabrielle Chasse Caoilainn Christensen

Megan Christle Liliana D’Aguiar Joey Day Adrianah Dobbins Taylor Farrow

Ginsey Thompson Zoe Zimmerman

THE VIRGINIA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PRESENT BLACKSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL BEL CANTO

Kate Foiles, Director Jan Blumenthal, Accompanist

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 1:30 PM

COMMONWEALTH ROOM HOMESTEAD RESORT HOT SPRINGS, VIRGINIA

Program

Arr. Susan Brumfield

Bandyrowe

Carry Me

Don MacDonald

Dance Upon the Moon

Michael Jothen

Nine Hundred Miles

Arr. Philip E. Silvey

Peter Anglea

Jubilate Deo

Carolyn Jennings

Jabberwocky

Program Notes

Arr. Susan Brumfield

Bandyrowe VA Grade 3 - SSA

Susan Brumfield arranged Bandyrowe in a commission for the 2014 Junior High Women’s KYACDA All-State Chorus

Don MacDonald

Carry Me Ungraded - SA

The poetry, in the form of a chant, traces the journey of a droplet of rain and supposes that we might join on that journey. The music uses “hocketing,” where one voice fills in the rests left by another over a constantly evolving minimalist piano accompaniment. The vocal melody is repeated twice, but the underlying piano parts, casting the melody in a new light.

Michael Jothen

Dance Upon the Moon Ungraded - 2 part

A long-forgotten newsworthy event is thought to have inspired this song. The lyrics invite us to wonder, who is singing? Who wrote the letter and what does it say? Why are there tears in the singer’s eyes? While leaving the particulars to our imagination, this arrangement of a classic American folk song succeeds in capturing the mood and the spirit of life on the American railroad in the early twentieth century.

Arr. Philip E. Silvey

Nine Hundred Miles VA Grade 3 - SA

A long-forgotten newsworthy event is thought to have inspired this song. The lyrics invite us to wonder, who is singing? Who wrote the letter and what does it say? Why are there tears in the singer’s eyes? While leaving the particulars to our imagination, this arrangement of a classic American folk song succeeds in capturing the mood and the spirit of life on the American railroad in the early twentieth century.

Peter Anglea

Jubilate Deo Ungraded - SSAA

A long-forgotten newsworthy event is thought to have inspired this song. The lyrics invite us to wonder, who is singing? Who wrote the letter and what does it say? Why are there tears in the singer’s eyes? While leaving the particulars to our imagination, this arrangement of a classic American folk song succeeds in capturing the mood and the spirit of life on the American railroad in the early twentieth century.

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Carolyn Jennings

Jabberwocky VA Grade 3 - SSA

A long-forgotten newsworthy event is thought to have inspired this song. The lyrics invite us to wonder, who is singing? Who wrote the letter and what does it say? Why are there tears in the singer’s eyes? While leaving the particulars to our imagination, this arrangement of a classic American folk song succeeds in capturing the mood and the spirit of life on the American railroad in the early twentieth century.

KATE FOILES - DIRECTOR

Kate Foiles is in her fourth year as the choral director at Blacksburg Middle School in Blacksburg, VA. Under her direction, the Blacksburg Middle School choirs have consistently received superior ratings at district choral assessment. Mrs. Foiles received her bachelor’s degree in music from the College of William and Mary and her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of South Carolina. Mrs. Foiles lives in Christiansburg, VA with her husband Andrew and their dog Lincoln. Kate Foiles is in her fourth year as the choral director at Blacksburg Middle School in Blacksburg, VA. Under her direction, the Blacksburg Middle School choirs have consistently received superior ratings at district choral assessment. Mrs. Foiles received her bachelor’s degree in music from the College of William and Mary and her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of South Carolina. Mrs. Foiles lives in Christiansburg, VA with her husband Andrew and their dog Lincoln. JAN BLUMENTHAL - ACCOMPANIST

Blacksburg Middle School is a grade 6-8 public school located in Blacksburg, VA. The school, which is the town’s only middle school, serves approximately 970 students from 5 feeder elementary schools. The current facility opened in 2002. Blacksburg is also the home of Virginia Tech. The Blacksburg Middle School faculty and administration are committed to creating and maintaining a middle school learning environment that is caring, safe, and dedicated to furthering the dreams of our students. The interdisciplinary teaching approach of the middle school helps students develop knowledge and understanding that span language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, fine and practical arts, as well as health and physical education. BLACKSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL

CHOIR AT BMS Students can begin taking chorus in the 6th grade at Blacksburg Middle School. All choir classes meet every day for 50 minutes. All 6th grade students are placed into the same chorus class. Students study the fundamentals of music and develop skills in proper vocal technique, tone quality and sight reading. In 7th and 8th grade, students are divided into three different choirs. Intermediate Choir is a non- auditioned treble choir for new or returning choir members. Boys Choir is a non-auditioned tenor- bass choir for new or returning choir members. Both of these groups focus on increasing musicianship and musical knowledge and guiding students toward becoming independent singers. Bel Canto is an auditioned treble group for returning choir members. The ensemble emphasizes continued development in vocal and choral techniques, music reading, and theory skills. The ensemble sings two-, three-, and four-part harmony both accompanied and a cappella. The Bel Canto choir has an admirable record of musical accomplishments. Students regularly participate in honors choirs offered at the county, district, state, regional, and national levels. The choir also participates in District VI Choral Assessment and consistently receives superior scores. BMS has been named a Blue Ribbon school 4 of the past 5 years. This is the first time that Bel Canto has appeared at the VMEA conference.

Specialthanks Mrs. Foiles and the Blacksburg Middle School Bel Canto Choir would like to thank the following people for their contribution to the growth of the choral program in our school and making this performance possible. • Dr. Mark Miear - Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools • Carl Pauli - Director of Secondary Education at MCPS • Amanda Weidner - BMS Principal • David Byrd and Bo Honeycutt - BMS Assistant Principals • Teachers and staff at Blacksburg Middle School • VMEA and VCDA for their invitation to perform at this convention and all of their hard work in making this a great experience for all • VCDA District VI Directors • BMS PTO for their financial support • Wordsprint in Blacksburg, VA for printing our programs • Jan Blumenthal • Lynsey Strohminger - Student Intern from Virginia Tech • Harry Farmer - BMS Band Teacher • All the BMS Choir students for your enthusiasm and encouragement • My husband Andy for his endless support, encouragement, advice, and patience throughout this semester. I love you!

Finally, I’d like to thank the past members of Bel Canto from 2016-2018 who made today’s performance possible. Specialthanks

Lexi Nussbaum Rachel Ofir Liza Roth Rupabali Samanta Anna Sedlak Bri Smith Kate Sutherland Kennedy Thomason Taylor Thompson Marlee Van Mullekom Campbell Winn

Rhyan Gilmore Jessica Greeson Gwen Hawdon Becky Helm Maddi Kunkel Emma Lehman Miranda Linkous Amy Menegay Ava Miller Emi Miyazaki

Erika Anthony Emma Baldwin Anna Beeken Aiden Bishop Shelly Boerth Teagan Bowyer Abby Cameron Evie Cameron Ana Czar

Kylee Eaves Kelly Galitz