Washington High School Vocal Department holding Tuesday evening concert

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The Washington High School Vocal Music Department will hold a concert Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

The concert will be held at the historic Washington Middle School auditorium and will feature a variety of music from the 1960s. Admission is free and donations are gladly accepted to allow students to continue to share music with each other both inside and outside the walls of Washington High School.

Director Jared Joseph explained a few of the ways students have been able to share their love for singing outside the classroom.

“Each year, we present at least four concerts and participate in the OMEA Large Group Adjudicated events,” Joseph said. “(They have been able to share outside the classroom which) allows the choirs to continue to have choir concerts with live accompanists who can rehearse with us during class and play at our concerts. We have choir concerts which feature a variety of music and often have a theme. In the fall, we focused on celebrating America through folk songs, patriotic tunes, and themes that reflect our current state of affairs. I always strive to challenge students and consider how the text of a song can tell such a powerful story.”

Joseph also said the students have opportunities to apply their music knowledge and skills beyond the WHS classroom throughout the community at events such as three different honor choirs (regional, Columbus, and state-wide) and the OMEA Solo and Ensemble Contest, where students sing solos for a judge to receive valuable feedback for improvement.

”When I select a theme for a concert, I think of what kind of music students should be exposed to and then from there determine which songs have meaningful texts that we can discuss and dissect in class,” Joseph said. “It’s been neat to see just how many of the songs students have recognized, but didn’t realize were from the 1960s. These songs are catchy, yet the arrangements have intricate rhythms and some include difficult harmonies such as jazz chords. We’ve had intellectual conversations in class about the history behind some of the performing artists and how the text of a song 50 years ago still relates to our world today.”

Songs that will be featured at the concert include:

Men’s Chorus: Walk Like a Man (The Four Seasons, 1963) and My Girl (The Temptations, 1965)

Women’s Chorus: Son-of-a-Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield, 1969); Stand By Me (Ben King, 1961) and RESPECT (Aretha Franklin, 1967).

Symphonic Choir: I Want You Back (Jackson 5, 1969); In My Life (The Beatles, 1965) and When I’m Sixty-Four (The Beatles, 1967).

Vocal Ensemble: The Times They Are a-Changin’ (Bob Dylan, 1964) and Revolution (The Beatles, 1968).

Combined: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Fifth Dimension, 1969)

Specialty Acts: Sitting On the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding, 1968); Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles, 1969); Under the Boardwalk (The Drifters, 1964) and Can’t Buy Me Love (The Beatles, 1964).

“Students have been excited about this concert for weeks, and began work on the songs at the beginning of fourth quarter,” Joseph said. “Community members will love the variety of number one hits (so many of our songs reached number one back in the 1960s) and the students can’t wait to dress up in ‘60s style clothing. We hope this concert will reach all audience members; there’s a song in this concert for everyone.”

Available for purchase at the concert will be the WHS Vocal Music coupon books with over $1,400 in value for a discounted price of $15 (normally $20). Community members may purchase a coupon book at any time throughout the year, but the discount will be available through the concert.

The information in this article was provided by WHS Vocal director Jared Joseph.

By Martin Graham

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Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy

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