Oakwood School - Quercus Yearbook (Poughkeepsie, NY)

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Glee Club 44 HAT! Another picture? I'm quitting Glee Club! And thus it went. Despite this often repeated threat, the Glee Club again claimed the largest and most enthusiastic partici- pation in school. Isabella Taylor, Acmmpmzittx Bert Mason, Director of the Glee Club During the fall Bert Mason energetically led and drilled over a hundred voices, about half of which were unaccustomed to such group singing. All went well until the last rehearsal-then panic struck-Isabella Taylor, our accompanist, was called away, it was impossible for her to return before the production of the Christmas Pageant on Sunday. Fervently Sara jane Benson studied the piano parts. She accompanied with finesse. The Glee Club, thanks to Think high, didn't go flat on Lo, How a Rose E'cr Blooming, and Cathy Burton and Peter Bank said the Prince of Peacel' together. The Pmmire of Peace. written by Bert Mason, had once again been successfully presented. Then, the Glee Club began to rehearse for an Easter Program and the annual Spring Concert. The year for the Glee Club culminated in June with the Baccalaureate Service.

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Lefz to right, ,int row-Sarah Jane Benson, accompanist, Phyllis Burnett, Sally Wedgwood, Roberta Cerboneschi. Second row-Bert Mason, director, Nancy Stewart, Helen Birnbaum, Rosalind Williams, Alice Czoper, Susan Deane, Suzanne McClain. Third row-Penny Betts, june King, Linda Rahl, Maya Andrau, Sally Harrison, Eliza- beth Horr, Anita Dickhuth. Not shown-Delia Wheel- wright. Ensemble HE largest instrumental group in five years, Oakwood School's ensemble was organized this year by Isabella Taylor and directed by Max Arnold, a former member of Sousa's band, who, in recent years has occupied first chair trumpet in the Newburg, Allentown, and Dutchess County Symphony Orchestras. The first program of the ensemble composed of selections from Bach, Handel, Grainger, Hump- erdinck, and Anders0n's Christmas Festival, was produced for a Christmas assembly on Decem- ber ll. The woodwind instruments of the ensemble, formed into a quintet for the Christmas Pag- eant, played the Alleluia and Chorale by Palestrine, and a selection from Mendelssohn. As an entire group, the ensemble appeared again, at the Spring Concert. Through practice over the past year, they have improved, bend- ing together as they have built a repertoire. Choir UE to the lack of choral interest on the part of the ma'e population of Oakwood, it was necessary to make this year's choir a strictly feminine affair with, of course, the notable exception of our director, Bert Mason. The choir sang in several programs including the Spring Concert, a special Christmas as- sembly, vesper services, and Sunday Meetings for Worship. The Selections have ranged from Latin to early American chorales, and from French and German Renaissance music to Negro spirituals. The footsteps to the gym every Tuesday night were far from reluctant. If the audiences have found as much pleasure in listening as the choir has in singing, then indeed, it has proved to be a stimulating and profitable part of the year. Left to right, jiri: row-Margot Soley, Ruth Seymour William Rowe, Susan Deuell, Darryl Danenberg, Eliza beth Lane, Charles Janeway, Richard Meredith. Second row-Isabella F. Taylor, accompanist, Sara Jane Benson Camille Walwyn, Max Arnold, director, Diane DeMask Nancy Griffiths, Stephen Tobey, Lewis Benedict, David Sanders, Fred Riley, Jay Halsband, Joel Goldstein

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Left to right, first row-Sally Wedgwood, Khoirow Nast, L bby Levinson. Second row-Michael Rololf, chairman, Simon Simons, john Ross. Typing Club N AMBITIOUS group of future secre- taries launched their careers this year in Oakwoods Typing Club. The Club is not new, for it has been a popular extra curricular activi- ty for several years. The members met every Tuesday evening after dinner, and under the expert direction of Mrs. Newlin, increased their speed, decreased their errors. For a few con- scientious souls the Club also served as an ex- cellent supplement to the daily typing class. Discounting any mishaps that might have occurred concerning the typewriters, and ignor- ing losses of temper with some very uncooper- ative keys, the Club proved once again a satis- factory combination of education and pleasure for a Tuesday evening. Music Appreciation Club TRANGELY modern sounds and familiar mellow tunes marked many Sunday after- noons in the Assembly Room, where the Music Appreciation Club held its sessions. The mem- bership varied, but social couples patronized steadily, stealing time after the four o'clock dead line! Even with diverse attendance, how- ever, the programs were well-liked, whether they included Chinese Opera, jazz, Beethoven, or Shostakovitch. The Club attempted to present different forms of music, its variations in tone, strength of form or the lack thereof, and the contrasting interpretations of composers' musical inspira- tions. If one did not seem aware of any general plan, it is just as well, because the primary purpose was the enjoyment of genius. X