The Clarke Central High School chorus sings in Mell Auditorium on April 21. Guitar and chorus student Sam Hansen, a senior, felt seen when the audience cheered for the performers. “I felt great. Pure bliss is the best way to describe it. I’ve done something that people are proud of and are enjoying,” Hansen said. Photo by Aza Khan
The CCHS guitar classes and CCHS chorus performed on Thursday, April 21 in a combined concert entitled A Night of Song.
The Clarke Central High School chorus, instructed by chorus teacher Kelsey Vogel, performed in the Mell Auditorium on April 21, followed by the beginning, intermediate and advanced guitar classes, instructed by guitar teacher Leslie Sokal-Berg.
The performances began at 6 p.m. with the CCHS chorus, instructed by Vogel and accompanied on piano by former chorus instructor Dr. Anthony Rucker. The chorus then yielded the stage to the CCHS guitar classes, instructed by Sokal-Berg. As a finale, the chorus joined the guitar class to sing “My Sweet Lord.”
A list of songs played by each class is shown. Infographic by Cadence Schapker
“I thought I would feel nervous but as I stepped up onto stage, it kind of evaporated. And there was the light, there was my guitar, and the lyrics, and that was it,” guitar and chorus student Sam Hansen, a senior, said.
Richard Rosch, parent of intermediate guitar student Michael Rosch, a senior, believed the classes did well.
“I’d never seen the chorus before and they were fantastic,” Rosch said. “(I) loved their song choice, they had a great vibe. You could just tell they really tried hard and put a lot of energy into it and it really came through in their performance.”
The guitar class had been preparing for months prior and required the students to adapt and learn a new skill set.
“Most of the semester has been preparing for this,” Hansen said. “We were learning sight reading actual written music, not just guitar tabs, which was very difficult at first but over practice we got better and better at it.”
Sokal-Berg was proud of her and Vogel’s classes, particularly her guitar students’ adaptability on stage.
“This was the best that all of the groups performed. Chorus was on fire, that was the best that (the guitar class) played (and) even when they messed up, they kept going,” Sokal-Berg said. “Music (is) an opportunity to dig deeper into one’s own emotions. There’s so much more to music than playing the notes. My kids had an opportunity to overcome stage fright, learn that they can do hard things and be tenacious. And yeah, they’re all super fly guitar players.”
Listen to the CCHS chorus sing “Fly Away Home”
Listen to the CCHS chorus sing “Believer”
Listen to the CCHS chorus sing “Stand Up”
Listen to the CCHS chorus sing “The Road Less Traveled”
Listen to the CCHS chorus sing “Found/Tonight”
