-Chorus/Jazz Choir Goes to New York

By: Philip T.

The Ivanna Eudora Kean High School has done it again! The school you love and adore, the school you give your all to—and more—has done it again. Kean’s Chorus and Jazz Choir, combined to form one energetic group, traveled to New York in April to compete in the Heritage Music Festival. The group that traveled consisted of about 25 students, who competed against more than 25 other groups.

According to Lorenzo, a choir student, “Performing was a real highlight.” LJ, another male choir student, stated, “The Broadway show and boat ride were great, too.” In addition to having so much fun on the trip, they came really close to winning top honors. Under the direction of Ms. Jeanette Rhymer, they placed second out of more than 25 groups from different places like Texas, Florida, California, Washington, D.C., and even China. The songs they performed were “It Don’t Mean a Thing” (If You Ain’t Got That Swing) by Duke Ellington, and “How High the Moon” by Morgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton.

The last time they competed, two years ago, they finished in first place. According to the choir students, they usually compete every other year in different states. The last time they competed, the competition was held in Florida. According to the Heritage Music Festival website,(http://www.worldstrides.org/heritagefest/pages/Difference.asp) “Music is our life. Sharing our love for music is the reason we started Heritage Festivals 30 years ago, and enriching the lives of students through music remains at the heart of everything we do.”

The choir also had to do a lot of work to get up there, because raising funds wasn’t easy. The group stayed in New York from April 8th-April 12th, 2010. The total cost of the trip was $1,200 each. The choir was a bit astonished when they first heard the price, but realized it was for transportation, hotel rooms, and food that were combined into on a big payment.

They began raising money by having bake sales, concerts and other extra curricular activities. Many students and teachers contributed to these events as well. A choir student said, “Getting people to help bring stuff to sell and advertising the sales was the hardest part; after that it was easy from there.”

If you would like to be a part of this class, you will need to meet a few requirements. You should be able to carry a tune, or sing, listen to the director at all times, and most of all have respect, discipline, and passion. The class meets during 3^rd and 5^th period, so if you’re interested, contact your counselor and let her and Ms. Rhymer know.