Ramsey to host choral festival
The Ramsey Junior High School choir will be hosting and participating in the 2013 Junior High School Area Choral Festival next Thursday in the Ramsey High School gym.
Schools participating in the festival are Central A&M Middle School, Lincolnwood Junior High, Meridian Middle School, Nokomis Junior High, Pana Junior High, Shelbyville Middle School, Taylorville Junior High and Ramsey Junior High.
A concert for the public will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Dr. James Rimington is the guest conductor for the area choral festival. Rimington is a professor of music education and voice at Bradley University. He is currently the director of music at the Pekin Grace Methodist Church and a community group called “Friends in Harmony.”
The guest accompanist for the festival is Kathy Coady, a graduate of University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
Coady teaches elementary general music for Taylorville Community Unit Schools. She also has served as organist and pianist for numerous school, community and church functions.
The area choral students will begin rehearsal at 12:30 that afternoon on selected music that has been prepared in class. A break in the rehearsal will follow the end of the regular school day. The Ramsey Music Boosters and high school music students will be in charge of the concession stand at this time. There will then be a final rehearsal before the meal break.
Miller’s Market is catering the students’ and directors’ meal that evening. Parent volunteers are also helping to supervise the festival students.
The festival band will include 324 students from all of the area schools. The group is divided into 124 sopranos, 107 altos and 93 baritones.
The opportunity to perform with a large group and work with a guest conductor and accompanist will also be beneficial in the students’ musical growth, said Ramsey vocal music instructor Iva Jones.
Ramsey Junior High School and its choir (above) will host the Area Choral Festival next Thursday. In front, from left to right, are Kristin Owens, Jaden Rohm, Sally Schirmer, Brittney Thornton, Katie Sanders and Blake Friesland. Seated in the middle row are Meg England and Madison Fogler. In the back row are Kelsy Summers, Emma Braning, Bayli Cooley, director Iva Jones, Becca Smith, Matthew Walker and Cameron Harris.
