Farragut Sings!
Town schools combine voices for holiday music night Dec. 13 in FBC
Farragut High, Middle, Intermediate and Primary schools music students will be singing songs of the season starting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 13, in First Baptist Concord, 11704 Kingston Pike.
It is free and open to the public, although “we will take donations at the end of the concert, and the donations will offset the costs of presenting the program,” said Mitchell Moore, one of FHS’s choir directors. “Anything we make over that will be split equally among the programs.”
Each school will perform its own pieces, followed by a combined piece with all 200-plus singers, and then a sing-along with all singers and the audience.
“It was kind of an idea that was floating around for a little bit,” Moore said. “We met in the summer to talk about if everybody would be interested in doing it, so it was a collaboration between all the schools that are involved.
“We know what the programs do, so we saw a lot of value in letting our students see the same thing and letting our community see the same thing,” he added. “So, we thought having a combined concert, where it’s from the youngest all the way to the oldest, to celebrate what music is in our lives, the school and the community, would really help us legitimize what we do to the community and also let our kids see the path of what they can do when they get older.”
They chose FBC because “it was the largest place to fit as many people as we have,” Moore said. “We’re expecting a large audience, and we wanted to make sure it was spacious, accessible and could fit what we needed for the choirs.
“We do hope, if it goes well, we will expand it in the future,” he added. “We’re already dreaming big.”
Moore noted the best part of holding the concert is “I see the value of it, and that’s one thing, but the students are seeing the value in it. That’s probably the most exciting thing.”
“This is our first year presenting this concert, and we are so excited to be a part of it,” FPS music teacher Hilary Hohl said. “All of the Farragut schools will have groups performing.”
She said FPS has an ensemble of 17 students in kindergarten through second grade who are participating.
“They will be performing ‘Somewhere In My Memory’ from ‘Home Alone,’ by John Williams, arranged by Audrey Snyder. All of the students will be performing ‘Night of Silence,’” Hohl said.
“Our eighth-grade Advanced Choir will be representing Farragut Middle School,” said Kimberly Mink, FMS choral music/musical theater Related Arts Department chair and lead teacher. “We have over 90 students in this class.
“I think this event will be the first of many where we bring all of the Farragut schools together and showcase the music programs from all of our schools,” she added. “We hope it will become a tradition and something that the community and families look forward to.
“We have some families that have students in several schools. This is a great opportunity for cross-generational experience for K-12 students in our community. This is also a great bridging opportunity for each school.”
Farragut Intermediate School will have 37 fifth-graders singing “Winter Lights” by Audrey Snyder and “It’s Time to Deck the Hall” by Mary Donnelly and George L.O. Strid, plus another song with the other choirs.
“This kind of concert benefits our students in a few ways,” FIS music teacher Allen Ramsey said. “First, it gives them the opportunity to be part of an ensemble of performers, where what you contribute is significant but is still just a small part of something greater.
“This helps build the students’ confidence in performance, where they know, even if they get nervous or make a mistake, chances are no one will notice because of how many performers there are,” he added.
Secondly, “It gives our students the opportunity to take pride in their hard work of practice and performance, where they can feel the audience response to something they did,” Ramsey said.
“Finally, it lets our students see a pathway for their future in learning music,” the FIS music teacher added.
“They get to listen to and perform alongside the choirs from the middle and high schools, which lets them see some of the possibilities if they continue performing in choirs after leaving the intermediate school.”
