April 13 & 14: BHS Voices Spring Show
April 13 & 14: BHS Voices Spring Show
BHS InnerVoices performed onstage February 28 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with its unique glass backdrop. A real-time view of snow-covered Central Park was visible behind the singers. They will join other BHS Voices for April 13 & 14 Spring Show at The Arts Center at Beaufort High School.
With the help of the talented BHS “Voices,” the new 650-seat Arts Center at Beaufort High School will have its vocal debut April 13 and 14. Nearly 100 singers will perform during four vocal sets, giving the Beaufort audience what it wants to hear… rich, complex arrangements of songs performed with precision, enthusiasm and polish.
Directed by Victor Varner, the Voices, along with the smaller Troubadours and InnerVoices ensembles, produce a major concert each winter and spring. While classical works are always studied during the fall semester and performed at the winter concert, the remainder of this school year has focused largely on vocal jazz.
In February, eighteen Voices traveled to New York to a vocal jazz festival where they performed at Lincoln Center. Top vocal jazz ensembles from high schools and colleges across the country gathered for three days to sing with and learn from each other. The singers received instruction from highly respected vocal jazz musicians including the festival’s artistic director, Steve Zegree.
“A lot of effort has been invested by the whole class, not just those who participated in the jazz festival, and so much learning has taken place about the nuances of vocal jazz,” says Varner. “I feel we just have to share this with the community.”
The singers will perform pieces arranged by Gene Puerling and Steve Zegree, both known for their challenging arrangements. The program is built around familiar melodies with exciting harmonic twists. Among the songs are “On A Clear Day,” “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” “In My Life,” “Just in Time,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”
The Voices appeared just two weeks ago with the Duke Symphony Orchestra and provided that audience with a taste of what’s to come at the annual spring show. “Our grand finale for the show will be a staged medley of tunes from “The Wizard of Oz” notes Varner. The singers and orchestra performed a bit of this for the Duke Symphony audience, who rose to their feet at the conclusion of “Over the Rainbow,” sustaining the ovation until all 70 singers had exited the stage prior to the orchestra continuing its performance.
“To see students commit to doing something so well, and to see Vic’s total dedication to developing these kids’ performance abilities and life skills is something I would never trade,” says Kevin Ennis, partner with Carolina Sports Care and Physical Therapy. Ennis, or “Doc” as he’s known to the students, has been helping Varner with students since the 1980s when they both worked at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, where Ennis was head athletic trainer.
“Doc is a rock,” says Varner, referring to Ennis who is always backstage during final rehearsals and concerts where he joins Varner in encouraging the singers in the Voices’ traditional “team huddle” prior to every major performance.
The concert will be performed at 8 p.m. this coming Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, April 13 and 14, at The Arts Center at Beaufort High School. Tickets are $7 and are available at the door. For more information call 322-2173 or email bhsvoices@gmail.com.
Related posts:
- Music in Beaufort: BHS “Voices” performances rescheduled for today
- Music in Beaufort: BHS “Voices” concert Wednesday & Thursday
- Music in Beaufort: Winthrop University choirs & Beaufort High School “Voices” to perform
- March 27: Duke Symphony Orchestra to perform in Beaufort
- Beaufort High’s InnerVoices take New York City by storm
