Northwest High School - Vanguard Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

Page 106 text:

Music, be it rock or symphonic, nonsensical or mean- ingful, contributed immensely to students' cultural lives for it provided an ideal expression of youth's constantly changing moods. Radio, a common source of musical satisfaction, was produced in a variety of portable and transitorized mod- els and was therefore, easily accessible to the majority of students. WNAP QFMJ which primarily featured hard rock in stereo with hourly news broadcasts was a favor- ite with many. Chris Conner, generally accepted as the most amusing disc iockey, entertained his listening au- dience with such recordings as Don McLean's Ameri- can Pie, Melanie's Brand New Key, and The Con- cert For Bangla Desh by George Harrison and Friends. For those preferring AM radion stations, WIFE, also spe- 102 cializing in popular music, was rated number one. ln ad- dition to newscasts which were furnished every thirty minutes, listeners enioyed the Carpenter's Hurting Each Other, Badfinger's Day After Day, and James Taylor's You've Got A Friend. Both of these stations rated Three Dog Night's Joy To The World as the number one song for l97l. WTLC lFMl offered soul stereo for the black community and introduced the characteristic disc-iockey, Spiderman. Spider de- lighted his audience with the Stylistics' You Are Every- thing, lsaac Hayes' Theme From Shaft, and the Temptations' Just My Imagination. Record and album sales also mirrored students' musi- cal tastes and preferences. Among the top-selling single hits were l'd Like To Teach the World to Sing by the

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Under the direction of Darrell Horton and Miss Karol Ruby, lcj The Concert Choir sings the band laj and orchestra lbj Handel's Messiah at St. An- ldj Members of the Belles perform in the annual Christ- ,drews Presbyterian Church, practice for an upcoming mas concert. during the yule season. performance. - N orthwest Vocal and instrumental groups were active in a variety of contests and concerts throughout the city. The band directed by Darrell Horton started oFf the year with the routine switch from marching to concert season. For the first time ever, the band was divided into A, B, and C groups, A band was com- posed of seasoned performers, B band consisted mostly of freshmen, and C band was a group of individ- uals just learning to play an in- strument. A band participated in the Christmas, spring, and awards concerts as well as a band contest in April. Dance Band, a select group of band members, specialized in music with a jazz flavor. They performed at such school and community func- tions as PTA meetings, the Toy and Hobby Show at the State Fair- grounds, and various local dances. They attended clinics to learn meth- ods for improving their sound and also entered stage band contests at Vincennes and Notre Dame in the spring. Several individuals , as well the group as a whole, competed in the State Solo and Ensemble con- test. They formed the nucleus of the pit orchestra for South Pacific, and ended the year performing in Northwest's annual spring jazz concert. The orchestra, playing music ofa more classical nature, was another major Northwest instrumental group. This group also performed in the Christmas, spring, and awards concerts, and entered a state con- test in the spring. A few members of the orchestra formed a string quartet which competed in the Feb- ruary Solo and Ensemble contest. Several orchestra members assisted the Dance Band in playing music for South Pacific, the spring musical. The Concert Choir, directed by James Kantarze, was the largest ever. Performing in the three major department concerts, they also en- tered a choir contest and choir fes- tival in late spring. Choir sang at several community functions, sang Christmas carols on the Circle downtown, and performed Handel's Messiah at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Swing Choir, a group of mixed voices, sang more contemporary tunes. Belles, an all-girl ensemble, also presented popular music. Both groups performed at several func- tions outside of school and were featured in the Strictly Jazz con- cert in the spring. Madrigals was a newly-formed mixed voice group and sang cen- tury old songs in a cappella style. Madrigals entered the Solo and En- semble contest in February. Performing a variety of songs ranging from classical to modern, the Concert Club sang in the Christ- mas and Spring concerts at North- west. They also entered a state vo- cal contest and sang in the all-city concert club festival in the spring. IOI

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,. .l New Seekers Hillside Singers, Jonathon Edward's Sun- shine, and Nilsson's Without You. Some of the most widely purchased albums were Carole King's Music, Chicago's Chicago At Carnegie Hall, lsaac Haye's Black Moses, Concert for Bangla Desh by George Harrison and Friends, and Melanie's Gather Me. Students found additional musical fulfillment as they attended concerts by noted groups and vocalists making personal appearances in Indianapolis at Clowe's Me- morial Hall and the Coliseum located on the State Fair- grounds. Tickets for these concerts ranged in price any- where from S4 to STO, and there were invariably full house audiences when groups like Three Dog Night, Chicago, the Jackson Five, Beach Boys, and Rare Earth sophomores. performed. Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Sonny and Cher, and Neil Diamond were a few of the individual vocalists who attracted record-breaking crowds to their concerts. Although dancing was formerly one of the most prev- alent methods of self-expression for youth, the novelty, somehow, wore off. While dances such as the Break- down, the Jed Clampett, and the Penguin were successful with students, for the most part, those who did dance preferred to create original steps to suit their distinctive personalities. 103 Expression in dance and music music exudes from lal Tim Pot ter, sophomore, Steve Cook lB-Dl and Steve Parmerlee el juniors and members of the rock group, Stonewall, at a school dance following the Manual basketball game f Selection of recorded music is also a good example of musi cal taste as shown by .loner Beasley and Diane Pillow