Melcher-Dallas High School Welcomed Area Choirs to Bluegrass Choral Fest
By Braydee Inlow
Activity and choir director Dr. Kingrey has taught choir for five years and decided to host the Bluegrass Choral Fest for the second time in a row on Tuesday, October 21.
Last year was a great experience with director Sean Stephenson from Central College. The songs they sang last year were Al Shlosh D’varim, Wade In The Water, Amani Utupe, Wishing Star, Louder Than Words, and There Is a Season. The show was a big hit with parents and directors.
This year's songs are This is Me, Come To The Music, Listen to the Wind, Ubi caritas, Fanga Alafia, and Glory Glory.
As the director, Dr. Kingrey usually digs deeper into what the choir did well, or what needs work. “Out of the six pieces selected for this year’s festival, I believe we had a strong showing in the performance of Glory, Glory! I Feel Better is a close second, followed by Fanga Alafia…
“For Glory, Glory!, I think the natural changing of keys by climbing higher throughout the three verses sets us on a path of ‘reaching’ for more. In addition, songs are helped along by their singers - or soloists - in this case.”
With approximately 100 students singing together, Dr. Kingrey can tell what the differences are between his choir and everyone else by just listening.
Dr. Kingrey said the differences were “I feel like our choir has soul. It’s hard to define, but when you hear it, you know it. Soul music, in general, is a favorite of mine, which is why we as a choir likely sing more songs of that genre.”
Kingrey says the soul genre helps Melcher “stand apart from the rest of the conference… As one of the biggest choirs in attendance, our core sound is bigger/louder, by nature.”
As Dr.Kingrey expressed how they did well as a whole, there is always room for improvement. Dr. Kingrey suggested, “Assuming we are not selected to host again, for the third year in a row, we will have to prepare differently in terms of ‘unknown sound factor.’
Therefore, we have to prepare by singing softer, louder, ‘just right,’ et cetera, in order to make sure that we fit into the larger ensemble when we arrive. Having hosted it in our own gym for two years has allowed us to know exactly what sound to work toward.
You can catch the choir at upcoming events: Winter Concert (Monday, December 15th), and Spring Concert (Thursday, March 12th)!