Northwest High School - Viking Yearbook (Grand Island, NE)

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Choirs note improvement A r well rounded pro- gram should give its students o lot of different experiences, which is what we ' re trying to do here at Northwest, said vocal music director Lou Gil- more, when discussing the choir program at Northwest. Experience started freshman year. Gilmore said the fresh- man choir could be the most rewarding part of her day because everything was new to them and seeing them understand their voices for the first time was exciting. Fresh- man Choir performed for the vocal concerts and at eighth grade orientation on February 3. Continued experience came sophomore year in Boys Chorus and Girls Chorus. Gilmore worked with a small Boys Chorus, but said it was an advantage to be able to get to know the students and give them individual attention. She said several girls in chorus had taken choir the year before. Right: Front: Todd Ronne, Eric Fruehling, Robbie Boeka, Brian Anders. Back: Chad Swanson, Don Prabhu, Ray Walling. Bottom Right: Exercising their vocal chords during concerts help the forty-six freshmen understand their voices. Below: Junior Dan Prabhu practices the Oldest Established for the musical. 20 Choir

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t Gilmore also directed the : Drthwest swing choirs, 14 3ret Gold , composed of niors and seniors, toured the •eder schools in January, hich senior Wendee Zahn d gave them a chance to I them about the music ograms offered at North- fest, and in December they |. alivered singing Christmas jards. Kathy Dreher, senior, lid her favorite part of slivering the cards was going the Veteran ' s Hospital because of the appreciation the vets showed. Sophomore Swing Choir in- cluded 18 members with one freshman. Barb Keil, the ac- companist. Gilmore said it was a close knit group that picked up on things quickly. The swing choirs auditioned by singing a pop song, and learning a dance routine. They performed at the vocal con- certs, and at community func- tions. 14kt Gold Robert Beckman Katliy Dreher Scott Frogge Deb Keil Sara Klein Roger Knight Greg Merkel Greg Mora Angle Nispel Sue Quandt Mindy Roby Kevin Ronne Doug Scholtz Luey Shultz Wendee Zahn Linda Zimmerman Above: By making a costume adjust- ment with hats and cones, 14 Karet Gold gives the audience the ol ' soft shoe, Left: Officers Kevin Ronne - treasurer, Roger Knight - vice-president. Angle Nispel - secretary, ond Greg Mora - president, discuss A Capella business in the music library. Choir 19

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which saved time and showed a greater percentage of growth. The choruses performed at aii the concerts. The sophomores were aiso able to try out for the musicai for the first time. Part of Gilmore ' s well rounded program was the newly offered classes Music Theory and Music Appreciation, both semester courses. According to Gilmore the classes were geared toward the student who wanted to find out what makes music tick. It ' s a process of taking it all apart and putting it back together again. As a teacher this is my greatest challenge because it involves music analysis, theory and history. Shelley Stueven, senior, hopes to major in music in college. In Music Theory, she said they concentrated a lot on the rules of music, and the structure of music instead of just playing it. Soph. Swing Choir Sharon Julie Harmon Todd Ronne Anderson Chris Steph Sheffield Rob Boeka Hodtwaiker Dawn Skeen Doug Bonneson Barb Keil Chad Swanson Amy Chapman Dave Keil Sona Walker Eric Fruehling Sean McNeils Janelle Julie Graham Peg Peterson Williams Sue Hodan Above: Eric Fruehling portrays a hit man, Harry the Horse, in the musical Guys and Dolls, Top Lett: Girls Chorus shows their percentage of growth during concerts. Lett: Sophomore Swing Choir rehearses the song Joy In Judeo for the Christmas concert. Choir 21