High school choral singers from Memphis and the surrounding area will have two days starting Thursday to blend their voices together for a full concert on Friday night.
The University of Memphis Honor Choir is an annual two-day event where high school choral singers work to refine music in preparation for a performance on the second night. The U of M Honor Choir features a high-profile composer-in-residence, or clinician, who is also the composer of one are more of the pieces being performed.
This year’s Honor Choir prep and performance will take place this Thursday and Friday in the Rose Theatre and will feature two clinicians — composers Timothy C. Takach and Jocelyn Hagan. Their job over the course of two days is to guide the students in a fun and interactive way to prepare them for their performance.
Germantown High School choral student and former U of M Honor Choir member Abigail Davis said being able to work with such experienced choral directors and receive feedback on music they wrote is an invaluable opportunity.
“It’s a new experience at a higher level than you’re used to,” Davis said. “You don’t get to work with college professors every day. You get to hear what they think and get a new perspective.”
The U of M Honor Choir was founded two years ago by U of M Associate Director of Choral Activities Ryan Fisher primarily as a way to get more choral students on campus and interacting with faculty. Fisher said if they establish familiarity between high schoolers and the university, students will be more likely to attend the U of M.
“Some amazing students sing from this area, and many of them will become future U of M students,” Fisher said. “That’s been the track record over the last couple of years. It’s a great recruitment opportunity and just a great educational opportunity.”
Fisher’s ultimate goal is to build more relationships and connections between students and the university and expand the U of M Honor Choir beyond the schools it consists of today.
“It’s our future,” Fisher said. “These are our future students for the University of Memphis potentially. It’s a wonderful educational experience for high school students and for college students and just another avenue to see a great high school performance that we offer on a regular basis here on this campus.”
With the process of refining music usually taking several months in a high school setting, White Station High School Choral Director Joseph Powell said he is blown away by how students are able to have their music performance-ready in such a short time.
“It’s a great turn around to see students refine music in two days,” Powell said. “My students are always amazed at how much they are able to accomplish.”
By the end of the Honor Choir, students are able to produce a brand new sound that they’ve never experienced before.
“There’s a unification that happens,” Davis said. “It’s really cool how you can make a beautiful sound with a bunch of people you’ve never met.”
This year’s Honor Choir will include students from Shelby County Schools and other schools in the Memphis area, as well as Jonesboro High School in Arkansas and Desoto Central High School in Mississippi. The diversity of participating schools allows students to meet many new musicians and discover a different blend other than the one they’re used to in high school choir.
Powell thinks being able to meet other students at the U of M Honor Choir is an experience students cherish for a lifetime.
“Students get to make new friends, rekindle old friendships that they may have made in middle school and create relationships that extend beyond the choir and into the rest of their lives,” Powell said.
The concert is free to the public and will be held this Friday at 7 p.m. in the Rose Theatre. The concert will kick off with a performance by the University Singers, U of M’s top concert choir.
“This is a great opportunity for students who don’t get to do other honor choirs,” Powell said. “You can’t put a price on having new friends, making new music and performing a piece of music with a composer in the audience.”
The participants of last year's University of Memphis Honor Choir took part in a two-day event to refine their performance for the second day's event. This year the Honor Choir will happen in the Rose Theatre Thursday and Friday.
