Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Fitch choirs had their spring concert on May 5 in the high school auditorium. The concert featured four choirs over two acts with special events in between the performances. Pictured, the women's choir I and II performed together for four songs.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.The first act of the spring choir concert featured performances from the men's choir, the women's choir I and II and the concert choir. Each group stood on risers while director William Klein led them through the songs. Pictured, the concert choir sang "Elijah Rock" by Moses Hogan.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.Choir director William Klein invited the families of seniors on stage to recognize them. The students received flowers and congratulations from Klein. ddditionally, three seniors in the concert choir received three $1000 scholarships from the Parents' Club.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.The second act of Fitch's senior choir concert featured songs and dances from the choirs. They performed musical meledioes of famous rock 'n' roll songs. Pictured, the men's choir performed "Rock and Roll Roots," featuring songs such as "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley and "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets.
Neighbors | Zack Shively.The Fitch choir concert included a donation presentation from the American Legion Austintown Post No. 301 to the Fitch choir. The choir thanked the veterans with a performance of "I'm Proud to be an American."
By ZACK SHIVELY
The Fitch choirs performed their spring concert in the high school auditorium on May 5 to a receptive audience.
The show had a “Rock the Jukebox” theme that became more present in the second of the two act show. The night featured a men’s choir, two women’s choirs and the Fitch concert choir. Fitch principal Chris Berni introduced the choirs and spoke about the program and the program’s director William Klein.
The concert choir fittingly opened the show with “Rock the Jukebox.” Then, Berni welcomed members from the American Legion Austintown Memorial Post No. 301 to the microphone in front of the stage. They spoke about their gratitude for the “veteran friendly” high school. They gave Klein and his group a donation of $1000. The choir followed this with a performance of “I’m Proud to be an American.”
The men’s chorus sang after the concert choir. They performed “Do Wah Diddy” by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, “Brother, My Brother” from Frank Wildhorn’s musical “The Civil War,” “My Girl” from The Temptations and American folk song “Sixteen Tons” by Merle Travis.
The women’s choir I and II performed together at the event. They sang Joseph Haydn’s “Gloria in Excelsis,” The Andrew Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” the song “If We Hold on Together” from the animated movie “The Land Before Time” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The women’s choir II had their own performance of Kim Andr Arnesen’s “Even When He is Silent.”
The concert choir concluded the first act. They began with “Jubilate Deo,” a traditional choir song and then moved into their music they learned for their performance at Carnegie Hall in New York, starting with Moses Hogan’s “Elijah Rock.”
They then sang Hogan’s “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me,” which featured a soulful solo by Romond DuVal. DuVal’s solo led to a standing ovation from the crowd, the first of many. Klein prefaced the next song, “The Rumor of the Secret King” by John Mackey, with being “the hardest piece of music” he has read. That performance also led to a standing ovation. They ended their set with “The Battle of Jericho” by Hogan.
After each of the choir’s performances, Klein and Berni honored the seniors in the band. Each senior received flowers and stood with their family. The Parents’ Club also gave away three $1,000 scholarships to seniors in the concert choir during their performance.
Klein had the alumni join the Fitch singers for a large singing of a traditional amen. They performed the piece in dedication to a student’s mother who died during the school year.
The first act saw each of the groups stand still on risers while they sang. The second act had no risers and the students danced while they sang.
Each choir sang one medley in the second act.
The men’s chorus sang “Roots of Rock and Roll,” which focused on the early rock ‘n’ roll songs, while the women’s choir I performed a medley called “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” The women’s choir II’s medley took female rock songs from the 80s, and the concert choir performed a longer version of “Rock the Jukebox.”