Jon Erik Rocks! with Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven, etc.
My husband finally did it!
When he first started as the choir director of Geneva Jr/Sr High, he inherited library full of pop music, which is pretty much what the students and audiences expected from the choirs. Last night, he blew everyone away with a program Renaissance, Baroque and Classical Choral Music from Vienna, accompanied by a professional string quartet, an oboeist, and a Continuo/Piano player.
It was a great way to celebrate the HS choir's first gig in the new school auditorium.
So way to go honey!!
Comments
I *hated* playing pop music in high school. I'm glad someone is trying to broaden the kids' (and parents) taste.
Yeah. It's a worthy battle. The kids, and even many of the parents, lobby for the stuff they know best. When he taught in rural South Carolina, it was gospel. At least there is a great body of spirituals that can bridge that expectation. At Geneva, he's found the best way to handle it is to ask the kids, "do you really want me to teach you Brittany Spears?"
Let's face it. Choral arrangements of pop songs often suck. Musical theatre and stuff like Motown is really the best middle ground with this audience.