The booming bass of Master Sergeant Victor Cenales filled the auditorium and brought tears to my eyes as he soloed on "America the Beautiful" over the background voices of the U.S. Army Soldiers' Chorus. Music like this - the kind that stirs deep seated emotions, enthralls an audience of teens and tweens, and prods hundreds of people to leap to their feet in a standing ovation - may be more at home in Carnegie Hall, but recently found its way to Skyline High School. It was my good fortune to be a member of the full-to-capacity house while these men and women entertained us with an array of classical, Broadway, jazz, and folk tunes. From the first note of the "Star Spangled Banner" to the last phrase of "America the Beautiful" we were captivated. I was amazed as hundreds of high school, junior high, and even elementary school students behaved appropriately and gave their avid attention to the 29 soldiers - in dress uniforms - presenting a lively show. The pacing of the concert was incredible beginning with the full ensemble presenting choral pieces like John Rutter's arrangement of "Sing a Song of Sixpence" before quickly shifting into small fluid groups of singers presenting jazz arrangements of pop tunes like "Time After Time," a duet from The Pirates of Penzance, and familiar gospel and folk standards before becoming one again for the finale. The amount of music this group packed into a 50 minute concert was staggering - and it all seemed over in the blink of an eye.
"How," you might ask, "did Skyline pull off such a coup?" Simple. Jeff - aka choir director extraordinaire - went to school with one of the singers - Sergeant First Class Mario Garcia. Thus, when his high school friend contacted Jeff on Facebook and mentioned the Soldiers' Chorus would be touring the area, it seemed only natural to invite them to Skyline. Of course, a good deal of planning and paperwork went into the whole deal since schools from all over the district brought their choral students to the show.
If you'd like to know more about the Soldiers' Chorus, which is a division of the U.S. Army Field Band, follow this link: http://www.armyfieldband.com/pages/ensembles/sc.html After reading about the group, click on the tab that says "Listening Room" to hear or download pieces from various Field Band ensembles. (You will need Quick Time 6 to play the files, but a link and instructions are available under "questions and troubleshooting.") I hope you enjoy these singing soldiers as much as I did.
"How," you might ask, "did Skyline pull off such a coup?" Simple. Jeff - aka choir director extraordinaire - went to school with one of the singers - Sergeant First Class Mario Garcia. Thus, when his high school friend contacted Jeff on Facebook and mentioned the Soldiers' Chorus would be touring the area, it seemed only natural to invite them to Skyline. Of course, a good deal of planning and paperwork went into the whole deal since schools from all over the district brought their choral students to the show.
If you'd like to know more about the Soldiers' Chorus, which is a division of the U.S. Army Field Band, follow this link: http://www.armyfieldband.com/pages/ensembles/sc.html After reading about the group, click on the tab that says "Listening Room" to hear or download pieces from various Field Band ensembles. (You will need Quick Time 6 to play the files, but a link and instructions are available under "questions and troubleshooting.") I hope you enjoy these singing soldiers as much as I did.
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