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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.The Canfield High School concert choir sang “Praise Him, Allelu” at the school’s annual spring concert on May 23.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Canfield High School senior soloist Gregory Halley performed “This is the Moment” from “Jekylle and Hyde” during the school’s annual spring concert on May 23.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.The Canfield High School chamber ensemble performed “Il Est Bel Et Bon” by Passereau at the school’s annual spring concert on May 23.
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Neghbors | Abby Slanker.In keeping with tradition to end the spring concert, all Canfield High School choirs joined together on stage with alumni who were in attendance to perform “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on May 23.
By ABBY SLANKER
The Canfield High School Choral Department hosted its annual spring concert on May 23.
Under the direction of Choir Director Kelly Scurich, the concert choir, One Octave Higher choir and Canfield Chamber Ensemble performed several songs for a large audience of family and friends.
The evening started with the recognition of the 18 senior members of the choirs, with a senior processional during which students were escorted to the stage by parents and family members, while Scurich announced them and said a few words about each student. Above the stage, a current photo and childhood photo was displayed of each student.
“Thank you, seniors. You have been a wonderful group,” Scurich said.
The concert began with the concert choir singing “Praise Him, Allelu” by Carolee Curtright and moving on to sing “Flying Free” by Don Besig. To end their portion of the concert, the choir performed “Hooked on a Feeling” arranged by Jon Nicholas.
“The concert choir has worked very hard together to get to working as a unit. It has been challenging and they have put in the hard work,” Scurich said.
Following the concert choir’s performance, senior soloist Emily Duncko performed “Goodbye For Now,” as song she wrote herself.
Next to perform was the One Octave Higher choir, and in introducing them, Scurich told the audience they had a very successful year.
“The One Octave Higher choir received superior ratings at our district competition and also at our state competition. This brings the number of superior rankings at the state level for Canfield to 31,” Scurich said.
The choir started with the Korean folk song “Arirang” arranged by Sonja Poorman. Next, the choir performed “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” by Stephen Swartz, featuring senior soloist Isabella Audia. Lastly, the choir performed “L-O-V-E” arranged by Kirby Shaw.
Following the One Octave Higher choir’s performance, senior soloist Gregory Halley performed “This is the Moment” from “Jekylle and Hyde” by Wildhorn and Bricusse.
The Canfield Chamber Ensemble then took the stage and began with “Il Est Bel Et Bon” by Passereau. The choir continued with “1000 Beautiful Things” by Annie Lennox, featuring senior soloist Kat Roman. The choir then finished their portion of the concert with “Chattanooga Choo Choo arranged by Mac Huff.
“The Chamber Ensemble also received Superior ratings at our district competition, which brings the number of superior ratings to 39, for the time I have been at Canfield high School,” Scurich said.
As a special project for the Chamber Ensemble, in affiliation with Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University, the choir performed “Pip” by Todd Maki. The choir sang the choral music as the short animated film “Pip” was played on a screen above the stage.
Before the final performances of the evening, an awards presentation took place, with several students being recognized and honored, including Emily Duncko, the winner of the Steven Snodgrass Scholarship, which is given by the Canfield Choral Boosters.
All choirs then took the stage together to perform “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” arranged by Mac Huff. Soloistst included Lauren Jones, Megan Coggins and Kailey Fishel.
To end their spring concert, with all choirs together, in keeping with tradition, alumni who had studied under Scurich who were in attendance were invited to join the choirs on stage to perform “Battle Hymn of the Republic” arranged by Peter Wilhousky. The performance featured Frank Bucciarelli, Dominic DeRamo, Gregory Halley, Alex Sanders, Reilly Todd and Troy Tyson.
Choreographer for the concert was Scurich, with Ronnie Sue Gregory and Tim Elder serving as accompanists. Kat Roman and Kayla Fekety served as a student conductors, with Jeff Mentzer in charge of sound and lighting. Background vocals were provided by Cortney Prout and Kaily Fishel. Student accompanists included Andrew Crans, Grace Li, Jessica Lee, Julia Mosher and Abigail Stilson. Instrumentalists included Gia Martin, John Heino, Stephen Ley, Ty Schaab and Alex Sanders.
A reception took place following the concert to honor the choir students.