CRESTVIEW — Several hundred family and friends, including many alumni, listened Monday evening as the 2013-14 Crestview High School chorus made its debut.
See a video of selections performed at chorus night here>>
Like Meet the Band Night, the annual introduction of the 125-member chorus is an opportunity to preview music to come.
Choral music director Kevin Lusk — who received multiple hugs from previous choral students during the pre-concert potluck supper — announced two big performances in addition to the annual Christmas and spring concerts.
The much-anticipated Madrigal Dinner, a lavish medieval musical dinner theatre event catered by the school's culinary arts program, will be Dec. 5-7. It is performed every other year.
In April, the chorus will perform at the World Stride Heritage Festival in Nashville, timed to coincide with the national show choir competition at which Crestview's chorus will also perform.
Fundraisers for chorus travel expenses are underway, and advertising opportunities are available for businesses and other supporters in this year's program book, Lusk said.
Crowd-pleasers
The mass chorus performance of the "Star Spangled Banner" was a crowd-pleaser because, as one father put it, "it was sung right, not like those Hollywood stars who think they have to embellish it."
The combined chorus also performed the school's alma mater in the round, which brought the young vocalists close to many audience members.
Each of the individual choirs performed selections, including two from "Les Misérables," which Lusk called "an homage to the band," as the international musical hit is the theme of the Big Red Machine's halftime show this season.
The Women's Choir's "On My Own" and the Men's Choir's "Bring Him Home" were both delightful, and Chorale's performance of "El Capotín" was rousing fun.
The two show choirs, the all-women Destiny, sparkling in their tie-dyed T-shirts, and mixed Chanticleer, gave hints of exciting music to come with performances of "Stranger" and "Everybody Talks," respectively.
"We're going to be busy this year," Lusk said. "The kids are doing a pretty good job so far."
Contact News Bulletin Arts & Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High School chorus makes its 2013-14 debut (VIDEO)