The Amherst Regional High School Chorale, under the direction of Anita Cooper, was selected to perform at the 2010 Massachusetts Music Educator’s Association Conference as part of the Concert Hour All-State Series. They joined five other groups who were selected from across the state to perform at this event. Groups were selected on the basis of an audition tape that demonstrated the ensemble’s strength, musicality and ability to sing in different styles; an application form with an ensemble resume and concert credits; and letters of recommendation from the Performing Arts Department Chair and ARHS Administration.
The ARHS Chorale is an auditioned ensemble of 25 students in grades 10-12 and performs over 30 pieces of choral literature of varying styles, languages, and difficulty over the course of a year. At the all-state event, they performed pieces from this year’s repertoire including the following:
I Love, Alas, I Love Thee by Thomas Morley
Sicut Cervus by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Gaudete by Brian Kay
Mata Del Anima Sola by Antonio Estevez
The Isle is Full of Noises by Bob Chilcott
Nelly Bly by Stephen Foster
Shenandoah by James Erb
Ain’t Got Time to Die by Hal Johnson
My God is a Rock by Ken Berg
The performance was held at the Seaport Hotel and Boston Convention Center on March 19th. You can also see the Chorale perform locally at the South Congregational Church in South Amherst on Thursday, April 29th at 7:30 pm.