J Sterling Morton East High School - Mortonian Yearbook (Cicero, IL)

Page 29 text:

THE VOCAL DEPARTMENT Director, C. K. Nicholas The Vocal Department of the I. Ster- ling Morton High School is headed by Charles K. Nicholas. The department is composed of several sections, name- lyg the Chorus, the Choir, the Boys' Glee Club, and a special training class. The Chorus consists of both beginners and advanced students. The Boys' Glee Club is also a training class and is open to any boy in high school. To be a member of the Choir one must have had at least one year of chorus work. The department does not try to promote solo singing: but Mr. Nicholas conducts a special training class for those who have had one year of Chorus and one year of Choir. The class routine is not all singing, for the students are taught the funda- mentals of sight reading such as key signatures, both the bass and treble clefs, proper rhythms as indicated by time signatures and metronome marks, and also foreign words and phrases which aid in the interpretation of the music. The student is also taught the proper care of the vocal apparatus, breathing, tone production, and diction. All this knowledge is combined to pro- vide beautiful effects with the voice. The Choir is the showpiece of this departmentp its members give a Christ- mas program, appear at two big music department concerts, and often receive invitations to sing outside of school from organizations interested in educational work. Various types of music are stud- ied, both sacred and secular, modern and ancient numbers being among those sung. The Choir has always been well received wherever it has ap- peared, at school, outside, or on the radio. This department aims to develop a music consciousness in its students not only in singing but in every form of music art.

Page 28 text:

The Iunior Orchestra Junior Band and Orchestra Besides the large groups already men- tioned there are two small but very important music organizations here at Morton. These are the Iunior Band and Orchestra. lt is here that the younger and inexperienced musicians get the training that is to be of so much value to them in later years. These organi- zations are under the same direction as the more advanced groups but study music that is less difficult, their main object being to get preliminary train- ing needed for membership in the Senior Band and Orchestra. The students in these organizations today will form the nucleus of our Band and Orchestra of tomorrow. The Iunior Band

Page 30 text:

Soprano Gladys Adcock Virginia Allen Virginia Arboe Elaine Fricke Mary - Hail Violet Iicha Dorothy Klema Tune Krupar Rose Ann Lebloch Esther Mack iune Meicke Bill Rose Morley Helen Novak Dolly Patterson Betty Piest Amelia Poclc Marguerite Rada Betty Rankin Bessie Stewart The Aeolian Choir '-the showpiece of the music department. Tenor Laddie Chvatal Frank Dell 'Arrni Bob Desmond lack Frink Iack Hall Tom Pletcher Howard Ritzrna Paul Simundza Alto Alice Berg Ruth E. Berger Elaynne Brazelton Marlyn Grunwald Elsie Habit Esther Hurst Catherine Ienkins Lorraine Matejicek Virginia McCo1lom Grace Michaels Virginia Mlinarich Ieanne Novy Marcella Nowicki Louise Ore lean Pletcher Donna-Claire Rehk Darcy Schmidt Wanda Shaules Doris Youngren Helen Zupan Bass Ray Arndt Howard Cisar Robert Dressler Vernon Groth Iohn Koller Gordon Langhorne Edward Misicka Robert Nelson Richard Nikola Elton Patchell Iames Pletcher Andrew Tichava Robert Van Nort OP