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Show Choir’s variety show to help fund group’s NY trip
By Lynn Hotaling
A group of local students is turning to the talent that helped them secure a gig at Yankee Stadium to raise the money they need to get there.
Smoky Mountain High School’s Show Choir, which is one of four selected from among 350 choirs in the Southeast to participate in the National Music Association National Anthem Project, will travel to New York City April 20-23 for a series of education activities. While there, they will perform the national anthem for the 1 p.m. Saturday, April 22, New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles game.
“I feel that these students will be wonderful ambassadors for both Smoky Mountain High and all of Jackson County,” SMHS music teacher and choir director Linda Haggard said. “They’re a terrific group of kids, and I know they’ll do an outstanding job.”
In an effort to reduce the cost born by each student from $600 to $300, the group plans a 7 p.m. fund-raising variety show at Southwestern Community College’s Myers Auditorium on Thursday, April 6.
Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for students.
While next week’s show will feature sparkling singing and dancing by Show Choir members, the event is open to all SMHS students as well as to those who attend other local schools. Also on the program will be the SMHS Concert Choir, several elementary school acts, instrumental numbers and student bands, Haggard said.
Show Choir members have been on an intensive fund-raising mission since they learned of their selection a few weeks ago, Haggard said. Their first project, “The Second-Time Around Dress Shop,” generated more than $600 by allowing students to buy and sell slightly used prom dresses, but the students still need to raise another $9,400 to achieve their goal.
“We’re hoping for a big turnout for next week’s show,” Haggard said. “We’ve got a great talent lineup, and I think everyone will enjoy our students’ performances.
While in New York, the students will take in a Broadway show and tour Carnegie Hall as part of their educational field study trip.
Half of the group will see “Rent,” the eight-Tony-Award-winning show that’s in its 10th year on Broadway, and the others will see “Hairspray,” which opened two years ago and has won six Tony Awards.
The students’ Carnegie Hall experience will include more than tourists are typically allowed to see. Choir members will get to stand on Carnegie’s famed stage and visit the backstage area and dressing rooms.
Haggard is hopeful that the performance at Yankee Stadium will also include a tour and a chance to meet some of the players, she said.
Show Choir members earned their slot by offering live renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the beginning of each school day since school opened in August. Some mornings the entire 24-voice choir performs the national anthem, with soloists and smaller ensembles also taking turns.
“We’ve learned it all different ways,” Haggard said.
When the SMHS students take the field at Yankee Stadium to sing the national anthem before the April 22 ballgame, the Show Choir will offer its a cappella, four-part harmony version, Haggard said.
An outgrowth of the group’s participation in the National Anthem Project is that the choir has recorded a number of versions of “The Star-spangled Banner,” Haggard said. Students offer live performances at as many SMHS athletic events as possible, and some choir soloists and ensembles have performed at Western Carolina University sporting events as well. The recordings are available to open games when it’s not feasible to render a live version, Haggard said.
When SMHS was selected to participate in the educational field study trips, Haggard had a choice of Chicago, Washington,D.C., or New York.
“I picked New York because our entry into the project was the Show Choir,” she said. “I wanted them to see a Broadway musical and Carnegie Hall.”
Show Choir members who will make the trip are Britney Acosta, Dillon Dunford, George Neslen, Nic DeHart, Josh Jones, Brittany Haskett, Martha Savage, Kelly Moore, Tonya Pruett, Alex Kevlin, Sarah Haggard, Ian Youmans, Abi Jones, Jasmine Huff, Chelsea Parham, Katy Elders, Charlotte Dunlap, Kelly Brannigan, J.D. Large, Ronnie Mau, Amy Haggard, Katie Coleman, Katie Setzer and Kelly Childress.
Area residents who cannot attend next Thursday’s talent show but would like to contribute to the students’ trip may call Haggard at 586-2177, ext. 285, or mail checks payable to “SMHS Chorus Boosters” to Smoky Mountain High School, 100 Smoky Mountain Dr., Sylva, NC 28779.
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