FHS Men’s Chorale teaming with UK, HHS at Church St. UMC
At the first concert, its Men’s Chorale will be performing a free concert with the University of Kentucky’s Chorus and Heritage High School Singers from Blount County starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 7, in Church Street United Methodist Church, 900 Henley St. in Knoxville.
“I got an e-mail from their director, saying they would be in town (and) asking if we would be willing to do a performance with them,” FHS chorus director Mitchell Moore said. “I said ‘absolutely, no doubt about it.’
“Each group will do its own set of pieces with, obviously, the big group being the University of Kentucky,” he added. “Then, the high school singers will join them for a combined piece at the end.”
About the opportunity to perform with such a group as University of Kentucky, Moore said, “I think it’s pretty rare. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before, and they’re considered one of the best men’s groups in the nation.
“It is certainly a huge honor (that) they would invite us to perform with them,” he added.
The UK group also will be coming to FHS the next day for a workshop with some of FHS’s choirs and a performance for all the students.
The chorale is a 25-member group of ninth through 12th-graders.
“It’s a non-auditioned group, but I work them like an auditioned group,” Moore said.
While a lot of them are in choir for the first time, “I have high expectations for them,” he said. “I hold them to the same standards that I hold everyone else, so we work very hard.”
Moore said this Thursday, he hopes the group will:
1). Enjoy themselves “because this is a unique opportunity;”
2). “I hope they will be really proud of what they’ve done;” and
3). “There’s a certain level of growth that happens when you perform in circumstances like this — in a big church with a big group, a big audience. I hope it will make them feel legitimized in what they do and continue to grow as musicians and set the bar even higher for the next performance,” Moore said.
The group had an opportunity to perform in a concert last Thursday.
“The whole program we did was our pre-J.B. Lyle concert,” Moore said. “That was all of the choirs, Miss (Kirstine) Buchanan (co-director) and I.”
In another free event, also involving the Men’s Chorale, will be hosting a tenor base concert starting at 7 p.m., Monday, March 25, at FHS that also will include men’s groups from Gibbs, Bearden and South Doyle high schools, along with its headlining group, Bucsworth, from East Tennessee State University.
Also, FHS’s Advanced Mixed Choir will perform with Tennessee Tech University in a free concert starting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, in Concord United Methodist Church, 11020 Roane Drive.
To finish the season, Moore said the department’s final concert of the year begins at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at FHS featuring the whole choral program “with a special send-off for our seniors,” Moore said.
That concert also is free, “but we’ll take donations,” he added.
