It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Got you singing it now, don't I?  Well, with the turn of the calendar to November, suddenly our "most wonderful time" becomes VERY busy!

We've just hosted another successful Mucho Macho Music festival earlier this week.  Over 100 boys from 18 schools came together for a day of singing with guest conductor Dr. Ryan Beeken and men from the IUP choral program.  By all accounts, the day was a hit.  Really, how can you go wrong with a song that has they boys singing "Argh" as pirates?!

Next week our girls are featured at the Sweet Harmony festival.  They'll travel to Upper St. Clair  High School and join with around 125 girls from the region as well as singers from the Washington & Jefferson College choir.  It's sure to be a great day as well.

Our drama clubs are bustling with activity.  The high school drama club held their annual bake sale on Election Day at the middle school, raising funds for the shows they put on.  The fall play, "The Night of January 16th," opens one week from today, and is sure to grab the audience's attention when some are chosen to come on stage to serve as jurors in this live-action courtroom drama.

The middle school drama club is in full swing now, after 134 students auditioned over 3 days, 35 went through an additional 2-day callback audition, and rehearsals began with the final cast of 75 for "The Wizard of Oz."  It's going to be a fantastic production based on the little we've worked together so far.  That show opens at the end of January, but rehearsals have started daily from 3:00-5:00.  The rehearsal calendar is posted on the Oz page.

Next in the choral program are beginning preparations for our annual Madrigal Dinner fundraiser.  Our first meeting will take place as soon as the fall play closes, on Monday, November 18 right after school.  We'll assign parts for actors in the skit, we'll begin to learn the songs for the night, and servers will sign up to work the event.  This will be the 3rd year we have put on the night, and the choral parents are hard at work doing the preparation.  They had a very productive meeting last night working out details, coordinating food, decorations, publicity, and the raffle sales.  It's a fun night and I'm looking forward to putting it together.

November 20th is our collaboration day with the music ensembles from Slippery Rock University.  Their chamber choir and wind ensemble will perform for us, our high school wind ensemble and North Hills Singers will perform for them, and we'll have a discussion about what performing opportunities are available past high school.  It will be a wonderful day of collaboration and music-making at the highest levels.

And finally, believe it or not, the holiday concerts are just around the corner.  The North Hills Singers have their first community performance the day we return from Thanksgiving Break, for the NHSD retirees luncheon at the Shannopin Country Club.  Then we head full force into holiday performance season, sharing our music with senior groups, residents at Arden Court and North Hills Highlands, a blind support group, at Phipps Conservatory, and of course, at our annual high school choral concert on December 12th.

It's a busy one, but here's to the most wonderful time of the year.  Ready or not, here it comes!  See you LOTS, and SOON!