Students from the Brownwood High School Choir competed at the Region 7 UIL Concert & Sight-reading Contest at Southwest High School in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 8th, under the direction of Cindy Franklin, Director, and Amber Chapleau, Assistant Director.
The Varsity Women’s Choir received a Superior 1 rating for their concert performance that included the songs, Non Nobis Domine, a sixteenth century three part motet composed by William Byrd, with text taken from Psalm 115:1, I Walk the Unfrequented Road, a mid-twentieth century 2 part piece that appeared in hymnals in the 1950s with that was written by Frederick Lucian Hosmer, and Dodi Li, an Israeli song, sung completely in Hebrew, with its text based on portions of the Song Of Solomon. Three duets featured in this piece were performed by Maycee Wilson and Chasity Woodcock, Katie Griffin and Mariah Solis, and Sharlene Munoz and Jennie Wagner.Brownwood High School’s A Cappella choir received a Superior 1 rating on their Concert Performance in addition to their performance in sight-reading, earning them the coveted “Sweepstakes” Award. The A Cappella choir program included performances of, Domine Fili Unigenite, from Vivaldi’s Gloria, written in the 18th century, with text taken from the traditional part of the Gloria of the Catholic Mass: Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, All Things Bright and Beautiful, composed in 1993 by John Milford Rutter, an agnostic British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, of mainly choral music, and Keep Your Lamps, an African-American spiritual, accompanied by conga drums, played by Rob Chapleau. As with traditional folk music, it is often difficult to determine the composer of spirituals. The text is based on Matthew 25:1-13, but it is thought the song was used a code during the time of the Underground Railroad.
A Cappella received not only a Superior 1 Rating on their Concert Performance, but also on their performance in sightreading, earning them the coveted “Sweepstakes” Award.
“I’m blessed to work with such a talented group of young adults,” said BHS Choir Director, Cindy Franklin. “Each of them has worked hard to learn the music individually so that they could be the most effective as a part of their team. I’m equally blessed to work with such a talented assistant director working beside me each day. Amber Chapleau does a fabulous job and I’ve been very thankful to have her by my side in my first year in Brownwood ISD.”
