Vocal Music/Choir Strand
Hear Credo – Schubert, Mass in G Recorded June 13, 2009, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York (mp3)
There is no better place to study music than the Fine Arts Academy. In addition to vocal technique and sight-singing, students also learn to play the piano and take AP Music Theory. Having piano skills is invaluable to vocalists. Here at the Academy, singers also have the exciting experience of singing with an orchestra. Vocal ensembles frequently perform masterworks with our award-winning McCallum Chamber Orchestra. Most recently, the choir and orchestra performed Schubert's Mass in G in Dell Hall at the Long Center in Austin and in June 2009 on the stage of Carnegie Hall. Some of the other major works our choirs have performed with orchestra are Vivaldi's Gloria, Faure's Requiem, and Handel's Messiah. .
Though many members of the choirs are Academy music or theatre majors, there are five different levels, and Mr. Nelson welcomes any McCallum students who wants to learn to sing. Mr. Nelson takes all five choirs to participate in the UIL Concert and Sightreading Competition. In the Spring of 2009, all five choirs earned very high UIL ratings. Freshman Girls' choir, Genesis, sang a beautiful program and earned a 1st Division Plaque for their concert and took a 2nd Division for sightreading. The 6th Period Intermediate Girls Choir also sang beautifully on stage, earning a 2nd Division rating from concert judges and the highest rating, 1st Division, in sightreading. Varsity Mixed Choir, Mens' Choir and Varsity Women's Choir each brought home a Sweepstakes Trophy! That's certainly ending the UIL season on a high note.
Singers also have many opportunities to perform in staged productions. Once a year, every choir student performs in a staged and costumed musical review of Broadway show tunes. On this performance, many students have a chance to sing a solo or be in a small ensemble. The musical review (called Cabaret) is a tradition and a favorite.
Students may also audition for the annual Academy musical (a collaboration of all the performing arts strands--theatre, dance, vocal and instrumental music) and several smaller musical theatre productions. These have included Music Man, Chicago, South Pacific, Beehive, Once on this Island, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Anything Goes, and Fiddler on the Roof. The musical for 2010 is Evita, which will be performed on the Academy stage in February and on a performance tour to Costa Rica the following summer. The varsity choir and orchestra also recently performed the operetta Amahl and the Night Visitors.
