Chantilly High’s Select Women’s Choir will present a concert next Thursday, May 31, at 7 p.m. at Ox Hill Baptist Church in Chantilly. The church is at 4101 Elmwood St., off Route 50 West, and the whole community is invited to attend this free concert. A reception with refreshments will follow.
COMPRISED OF 17 singers, all juniors and seniors, this is Chantilly’s most-advanced concert choir and students must audition to be part of it. And in next week’s performance, the members will present a wide variety of repertoire.
"We’re calling this event ‘Select Showcase’ because we showcase every student in it," said Choral Director Mike Fuchs. "Every student will sing a solo or duet. They’re a wonderfully talented group of ladies that sing very expressively, have worked very hard and sing a lot of difficult music. And we hope people will come out and be moved by what they hear."
The singers will have live accompaniment on instruments including piano, guitar and flute. And their musical styles will range from classical to jazz to folk to Broadway. The theme of the concert is "A Turning Point," and the girls chose it, themselves.
"So many of them are graduating that they picked something meaningful to them," said Fuchs. "It can symbolize, for example, a turning point in life, in a relationship or in important friendships, or maybe graduating and going away." An illustration is the number, "For Good." It’s sung by two girls who are really close friends, and it tells about how their friendship has changed their lives for the better.
Said Fuchs: "My goal is to show them how composers from different styles, centuries and parts of the world have written music about these same things, and that they, too, consider them important."
THE CONCERT at the church will feature three selections sung by the whole group. They are "Send in the Clowns," a jazz tune; "Turn Around," a slow ballad; and a comical piece called "Dear John, Dear John."
There’ll be more than a dozen solos. Among them will be: "A Little Fall of Rain," "Orange-Colored Sky," "Via Dolorosa," "What I Did for Love," "February Song," "Foolish Games," "Change of Heart" and "Dance with my Father."
Duets will include "For Good," from the Broadway musical, "Wicked," and "Some Things are Meant to Be," from "Little Women."
The members of the Select Women’s Choir sing all year long, but have been rehearsing specifically for this concert for the past two months. And the final product, says Fuchs, is worth all the effort.
"They’re fantastic singers and have been really fun to work with," said Fuchs. "As far as I’m concerned, anyone who doesn’t come and hear them will miss out — because they really make some special music together."