November Choir Notes

Important November Dates:

November 7, 9, 11, 12: Our school musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, is playing in the HHS auditorium at 7:00 p.m. (plus one matinee on 11/9 at 1:00 p.m.). If you haven't done your Performance Observation yet for first semester, this is a great opportunity!  Tickets can be bought in advance for $7 through Friday, November 1st.  You can buy them from cast members (we have TONS of choir members in the show!), at the treasurer's office, or on myschoolfees.com.  Tickets are $9 if you buy them at the door, so hurry and get yours before the price goes up!

Thursday, November 14: Madrigals perform at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Sugarhouse Health Center at 10:00 a.m.

Friday, November 22: Dr. Chris Puckett from Westminster college comes to do a workshop with Concert Choir during class.

Coming Up:

Friday, December 6: Madrigals, Concert Choir, and En Chantant perform on Temple square.

• 3:00 p.m.- warm-up in the choir room
• 3:15 p.m.- busses leaves HHS
• 4:00 p.m.- perform in the JSMB
• 4:45 p.m.-5:45 p.m.- free time to look at lights and/or get food
• 5:45 p.m.- call time at the Assembly Hall
• 6:30 p.m.- perform in the Assembly Hall
• 7:20 p.m.- busses leave for HHS

Wednesday, December 11:  Choir Council hosts a caroling social from 5:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to get your "Sing to Serve" assignment done for term 2! We are looking for houses to carol at in the Highland neighborhood within walking distance. Please email me if you have a family that would enjoy hearing us on their porch! We will sing winter songs that are not specific to religion- Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, etc.   

Wednesday, December 18: Term 2 HHS Choir Concert at 7:00 p.m. Call time is 6:15 p.m.  We will invite all alumni to sing "Candlelight Carol" at the end.  

October Choir Notes

Important October Dates:

• Friday, October 4, 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Auditions for pre-show in the choir room after school.
• Monday, October 7: Tickets go on sale for dessert fundraiser.
• Sunday, October 20: Online and/or treasurer ticket sales CLOSED (tickets can be purchased at the door). 
• Monday, October 21st: Dessert Fundraiser and Term 1 Concert- see below for details!
• Friday, October 25: Last day of term 1

Monday, October 21st "The Sweet Sounds of Broadway" Concert Schedule:

• 2:30-4:00 p.m.: Concert run-through in auditorium (all students).
• 6:00-6:50 p.m.: Desserts in the cafeteria ($5 each) and pre-concert entertainment provided by HHS Choir students. See below for dessert ticket information.
• 6:45 p.m.: Call time for all choir students in the choir room.
• 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Term 1 concert in the auditorium (free admission).

Ticket Information:

• Tickets will be sold online and at the treasurer's office for 2 weeks prior to the concert.  Tickets sold before the day of the concert are $5 each or the family price of 5 tickets for $20.  
• Ms. Houston can see online who has paid and how many tickets were purchased. She will give students the tickets their family purchased (but parents should save their receipts as proof of purchase just in case). If a non-family member purchases tickets, they can pick them up at the door under their name.
• On the day of the concert, tickets will be sold at the door but the family deal no longer applies.  
• How to purchase online:
• Go to myschoolfees.com
• Parents with students in the program can pay under student fees with their normal login. Select "other categories" and then go to "Music Vocal."
• The public (friends, relatives) can sign in as a guest find the tickets under "Music Vocal."

Dessert Donations: 

• If you're interested in donating a dessert but have not yet had the opportunity to fill out the online form, please click here.
• Please direct any questions about desserts to cynthiaremke@gmail.com.  She will contact those of you who volunteered desserts with instructions soon.

September Choir Notes

We've had a wonderful start to the year- I absolutely adore each one of my kiddos! I've loved having Emily Vorhees on board. She is our student teacher from the University of Utah. She is kind and responsible and has the voice of an angel. We are lucky to have her!

Important September Dates:

• Friday, September 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m. @ HHS: First voice lesson for students participating in the U of U Research study
• Friday, September 13, 5:00-9:00 p.m. @ Utah State Fair: Madrigals perform with Journey
• Friday, September 20, 4:30-6:30 @ HHS: Second voice lesson for students participating in the U of U Research Study
• Saturday, September 21, 11:00 a.m. @ Sugarhouse Park: Madrigals sing the Star Spangled Banner at the ALS Walk
• September 23-26: In-Class Performances for all classes.  Click here to see the requirements for this assignment.  Students signed up for a date and time in class.
• September 25-26 @ HHS: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Uniforms:

• En Chantant and Concert Choir students need to pay for their uniforms by Friday, September 13th.  These payments can be done online at myschoolfees.com or in person to our treasurer, Jennie Gangroth.  Please email me with any questions.
• SATB Ram Choir students will wear all black for the concert (no jeans, please- business casual attire). Please email me if you would like these items ordered. You can pay through the treasurer (fee waiver applies if you qualified).  

Upcoming Events:

• Monday, October 21st, 6-8:30 p.m.: Our first concert is in conjunction with our yearly fundraiser. We sell desserts from 6:00-6:50 p.m. for $5 each and provide entertainment while guests eat their treats.  Then, we have our concert in the auditorium from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The concert is FREE admission. This year's theme is "The Sweet Sounds of Broadway."
• I am looking for parents to donate desserts. These can be store bought.  The easiest thing are cakes and pies.  We try to give a generous serving for $5.  Please email me if you're interested in donating, or if you have a connection to a restaurant/store who might be willing to donate some cakes/pies to us.
• I am looking for a parent to coordinate all the dessert donations.  This would involve contacting all the parent volunteers who email me (I would forward the emails along) and telling them when to bring desserts, keeping track of how many servings we have donated, possibly reaching out to more parents if we don't have enough, making sure we have serving utensils, for what is being brought, etc. 
• I am looking for 3-5 parents to help our choir council decorate the tables, set up the desserts, take tickets, and serve the desserts. We already have tablecloths we can borrow through the school, as well as some little centerpieces.  We just need help getting it set up after school on October 21st.  

Disclosure Document:

• If you missed the Disclosure Document, you can read them below:
• Click HERE for Madrigals
• Click HERE for SATB Ram, En Chantant, and Concert Choir

Laura Billings, Voice Teacher

https://www.daymurraymusic.com/teachers/lara-billings/

Dr. Lara Billings has been teaching students to sing for the last decade. She has performed the role of La madre in Luigi Dallapiccola’s twelve-tone opera, Il prigioniero, which was described in the Tallahassee Democrat as “a heartbreaking performance.” Additional roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Micaëla in La tragédie de Carmen, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and the title role in Suor Angelica. As an orchestral soloist, Dr. Billings has sung the soprano solos in Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She worked with composer Harold Schiffman at the world premiere performance of Alma, as a cover for the title role. As a recitalist, Dr. Billings has performed at various venues in Utah; Michigan; Maryland; Washington, DC; Florida; and Italy. 

Dr. Billings received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Utah, and a Master of Music degree from Florida State University, both with emphasis in Vocal Performance. She has studied Spanish extensively, as well as French, German, Italian, and Russian. She completed a Doctor of Music in Vocal Performance at Florida State University, where she specialized in Russian language and vocal literature.

In addition to her private studio, Dr. Billings teaches at Snow College and is the Assistant Musical Director at North Sanpete High School, recently coaching their production of Newsies. In summer, she teaches interested students at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy. She has previously taught at Troy University in Troy, Alabama, and was a graduate teaching assistant at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

larabillings@gmail.com

2019-2020 Disclosure Document Assignment

SATB RAM CHOIR, EN CHANTANT, & CONCERT CHOIR:

After reading the Choir Disclosure Document (see quick link to the right), please fill out THIS SURVEY to get credit for the assignment.  Please note that the Madrigals Disclosure is different from the HHS Choirs Disclosure.

MADRIGALS ONLY: 

After reading the Madrigals Disclosure Document (see quick link to the right) please fill out THIS SURVEY to get credit for the assignment.

PIANO ONLY:

After reading the Piano Disclosure Document (see quick link to the right) please fill out THIS SURVEY to get credit for the assignment.

2019-2020 Calendar of Events

Please note the Madrigals will have a separate performance calendar for December! Anything in red applies to ALL CHOIRS.  Other events may be particular to specific choirs, so please read carefully!

September:

• Friday, September 6th: U of U student voice lesson #1 (by volunteer participation only)
• Friday, September 13th: Madrigals Utah County Fair guest appearance with Foreigner
• September 24-27: T1 In-Class Performances
• Friday, September 20: U of U student voice lesson #2 (by volunteer participation only)

October:

• Monday, October 21st : Fall Dessert Fundraiser and T1 Concert @ HHS ("The Sweet Sounds of Musical Theater")

November:

• Friday, November 1st: U of U student voice lesson #3 (by volunteer participation only)
• Friday, November 15th: U of U student voice lesson #4 (by volunteer participation only)

December:

• Friday, December 6th: Temple Square (En Chantant, Concert Choir, Madrigals)
• Wednesday, December 18th: T2 Holiday Concert @ HHS @ 7 pm
• Friday, December 20th: Sing to Serve #1 due

January:

•  Friday, January 10th: Performance Observation #1 due (all choirs except Madrigals). This can be turned in ANY time during term 1 and term 2. 

February:

• Feb 6-8: Madrigals mini tour to St George for UMEA
• Feb 18-21: T3 In-Class Performances

March:

• Tuesday, March 10: Region Solo and Ensemble @ Murray HS (Madrigals + all other selected choir students)
• Tuesday, March 17: Region Chamber Choir Festival @ Olympus HS (Madrigals only)
• Wednesday, March 18: T3 Concert @ HHS @ 7 pm

April:

• Tuesday, April 14th: Training Choir Festival @ HHS (SATB Ram Choir only)
• Tuesday, April 21th: Large Choir Festival @ Hillcrest (En Chantant and Concert Choir only)
• Saturday, April 25th: State Solo and Ensemble and Chamber Choir Festival (qualifying students only)

May:

• Tuesday, May 12th: Tartanfest
• Monday, May 18th: T4 Banquet and Concert
• Friday, May 29th: Performance Observation #2 due (all choirs except Madrigals)
• Friday, May 29th: Sing to Serve #2 due

Holly Banfield, Voice Teacher

Holly Banfield
hollybandfield.com

"My primary instruction is in voice.  I can teach anything from novice to emerging professional voice.  My primary instruction is in voice.  I can teach anything from novice to emerging professional voice lessons.

Teaching music is a passion for me.  It brings me great joy to help my students accomplish their dreams.  I have been a choir director for 9 years.  I have received a bachelor's and master's degree in music education, with a vocal emphasis.  I am starting my doctorate in August 2019 in vocal performance at the University of Utah.  My students consistently receive superior ratings in festivals, lead roles in musical theater and opera shows, and many of them have gone on to study music as a career.  My hope for my students is to help them see the potential within themselves and to rise to that potential.  I believe the techniques and skill sets I have acquired will help pave the way for my students to achieve their goals and ambitions. I can also teach beginning to intermediate piano and guitar lessons."