By Drue Miller & Bella Beuckens
Trojan Tribune Staff
Photo by Amy Anderson

The West Central Music Department hosted their annual pops concert on April 27. The chorus and band came together to produce a show full of recent and classic songs that were bound to impress. Seven groups performed: concert choir, mixed choir, band, percussion ensemble, drum line, jazz band, and middle school jazz band.

The concert choir girls sang “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri and “When I think of You” by Sara Teasdale. The concert choir boys sang “Some Nights” by Fun, and “My Girl” by The Temptations. “Some Nights” featured three soloists including: seniors Nick Shumaker, Donovan Minor and junior Erik McClusky. The boys and girls came together to sing “Stand By Me” made famous by Ben E. King, which featured senior Drew Maras beat boxing. Maras said, “I really liked “Jar of Hearts” because I sang it even though it was the girls’ song. I distinctively remember mentally singing it to Brian Janish.”

The mixed choir sang “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys. Brianna Opitz, mixed choir freshman, said, “I loved singing songs that I already knew. It is easier to get into the music when you have a connection to the song prior to learning it for class!”

The ‘80s were brought back by the band, which played a mashup of all the hottest hits from the ‘80s. They also presented “Call Me Maybe,” which was arranged by senior Isaac McMahon. McMahon used a program to decipher the song and place notes for the different parts of the song. McMahon basically broke the song down note by note for each instrument until he had the whole song put together for the band to perform.

The percussion ensemble went out of their way to perform “Mozambique” by Chris Brooks and Big Yellow Mambo by David Steinquest. “I enjoyed participating in the percussion ensemble. They were really fun pieces to play and it was a good learning experience!” said Maddi Miller.

The drum line put together “Zubaz,” “Latin Time,” “That’s A Nice Boy You Got There,” “Uppie” and “Orange Stick Shot.” The drum line got into the spirit of the concert by dressing up in gangster outfits and short shorts. Paige Hanisch reported that Sam Swier can pull off short shorts really well, not to mention that the drum line “kicked butt!”

The jazz band played “Taking the Plunge,” “As If To Say Goodbye,” and “Dominoes.” Hanna Wahl said, “Playing these songs really added to the prism style of the concert. It was stressful to run around, and it was kind of chaotic, but I think the audience really enjoyed it!”

The pops concert concluded the season for the music department. Overall, the annual pops concert was a success for many.

By Madelyn Miller
Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo by Doreen Miller

April 16, the West Central Music Department performed their spring concert for the community. It took place in the Becker Center and featured the Mixed Choir, Concert Choir and Concert Band, as well as other small ensembles. These ensembles included the Mixed Choir women’s ensemble and the Concert Choir mixed ensemble.

The Mixed Choir women led the show with their performance of “My Friend Wears a Wide Brimmed Hat,” by Amy Bernon. They then joined the rest of the Mixed Choir for three more songs: “Aya Ngena,” arranged by Ruth Morris Gray, “Canon of Praise by Pachelbel,” arranged by Hal Hopson and “Shut De Do,” arranged by Fettke and Grassi.

Following the Mixed Choir was the Concert Choir. Their mixed ensemble, made up of mostly All-State singers, performed “Do Lord, Remember Me,” arranged by Russell Maudlin. The full Concert Choir then performed “Maquerule,” arranged by Julian Gomez-Giraldo, “Sanctus” by Craig Courtney and “Witness,” arranged by Jack Halloran.

The Concert Band closed the show with their performance of “Celebration and Song” by Robert Sheldon, “Blue and Green Music” by Samuel Hazo and The Old Red Mill by Brant Karrick. The final piece performed was “Concerto in B Flat Major for Bassoon and Concert Band” by Wolfgang A. Mozart, which featured senior Isaac McMahon as a soloist.

“It went really well. We put a lot of emotion into the songs, which made them more fun,” said a Concert Choir member, sophomore Drue Miller. “It was nice to see Mr. Eye so happy with the end result,” said a Concert Band member, sophomore Gerald Fraas. Band directer Daniel Eye said that the band balanced very well and “Isaac really brought down the house” with his solo.

The Mixed Choir, Concert Choir and Concert Band will be traveling to Harrisburg High School for large group contest April 24 to perform for a panel of judges. They will be performing selections from their spring concert.

By Bella Beuckens & Kylie Hanisch

Trojan Tribune Staff

Photo by Maddi Miller

West Central’s three chorus groups travelled to the Augustana Campus in Sioux Falls March 11 for the solo ensemble competition. Rebecca Bialas, West Central’s choir instructor, was impressed with the professionalism of the groups. She was extremely proud of how the chorus students did this year at competition.

Sophomore Sam Jennings said about the competition, “I would say it went really well! The girls got 34 out of 35 possible points while the boys and mixed groups pulled a perfect 35 out of 35. I am really glad that all three groups got to take home a superior award!”

In good humor, senior Drew Maras was quick to add that he was the “common denominator” of the groups. Later on, he said that Isaac McMahon might have also been a part of the reason for the superiors. The high confidence continued when sophomore Brandon Gray claimed that the “men are better”.

Bialas said this year was the first time she has had a mixed choir receive a superior rating. She also mentioned the fact that their scores reflected well on the hard work that was put forth by the three groups. The chorus classes look forward to preparing for their upcoming competition at O’Gorman April 6.