Performance scheduled for March 5

By Jennifer Grybowski
Turley Publications Reporter

Editor's note: March is "Music in Our Schools Month." The Town Common will be highlighting some of the great things happening with music in the Tantasqua/Union 61 district each week this month.

STURBRIDGE - Chase away the late winter blues with a trip “Somewhere in Time” from Africa to Broadway during the Tantasqua Regional High School (TRHS) Show Choir Showcase Friday, March 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the high school auditorium.
This year’s show will differ from previous years in that it includes the concert chorus as well. TRHS Fine Arts Curriculum Supervisor Christine Costello said the schedule this year for the regular showcase and the annual cabaret dinner was running too close, so she decided to combine them.
The Concert Chorus will be performing selections from “Les Miserables.”
“It is a good opportunity to do some music from Broadway,” Costello said. “[Les Misearbles] has some of the most expressive music; it’s really an opera for the modern day. I like pieces of musical theater like that because it gives the students a nice exposure to what opera is. They are really, really enjoying it. It gives us an opportunity to put a little theater in it.”
Selecting themes for the showchoirs can be a little more challenging.
“When selecting a theme, you have to choose a good music selection,” TRHS fine arts instructor and showchoir choreographer Reagan Paras said. “It has to be accessible to students and the audience and you have to add the elements of dance.”
The high school showchoir, “Encore,” comprising 42 performers and 13 in the pit band, will be performing an Africa themed show.
The show will begin with an eclectic mix of Toto’s “Africa.” Costello said they saw the new mix on YouTube and purchased the arrangement, which includes a 14-part harmony.
“In some other programs, the music suffers because the dance and the show are put in the forefront,” Costello said. “We will not do easy music for the sake of it being showier. We are committed to providing the best musical education for our students.”
Other numbers in the show include “Lioness Hunt” and “Endless Night” from Broadway’s The Lion King; “Who Better Than Me” from Broadway’s Tarzan; and Dela/Baba Yetu, a Swahili version of “Our Father.” Some students might recognize the song as the one played at the main menu of Civilization IV video game.
“Our students get to learn different styles of music so they get to experience music they haven’t been exposed to,” Paras said.
The junior high showchoir, comprising 44 performers and eight in the pit band, will be performing a show called “Somewhere in Time,” loosely based on the 1980 time travel romance film directed by Jeannot Szwarc, written by Richard Matheson and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright and William H. Macy.
“It’s a girl in love with a guy, and they travel in time, so we were looking for songs based on that,” Eric vonBleicken said. “The judges like different styles.”
The show starts off with “Viva La Vida,” and moves to “If I Can’t Have You.” As they travel back in time, “How High the Moon” will linger from the side of the stage, and morph into the Latin jazz standard “Sway.” “Rockin’ Around the Clock” brings them into the 1950s and the show ends with the techno-favorite “Everytime We Touch.”
“It’s a cool show,” vonBleicken said. “[The rehearsals are] fairly grueling, but when they get to the concert, it’s a great feeling.”
Costello said the costumes, made by Sue Dubois, and costume changes are really something this year.
“It’s amazing how comprehensive the show is,” Costello said. “I’m so proud of the show because it’s so musical and so artistic. The kids are very proud of the show.
“I’m proud to say the show is classy and full of integrity,” Paras said.
Both showchoirs will begin competitions in the coming weeks.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. For questions, contact TRHS Fine Arts Director Christine Costello at (508) 347-9301 or costelloc@tantasqua.org.