Fort Myers High School Choral Department: News

An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Ridinghood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch...who raps? They're all among the characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk). Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins a lively irreverent fantasy in the style of "The Princess Bride" becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell our children.

Happily ever after is just the beginning...

This is the tentative schedule for this year.  See you all soon!

 

Period 1 - AP Music Theory

Period 3 - Music Theory 1

Period 5 - IB Theatre

Period 7 - Fermata (Vocal Ensemble I-IV)

 

Period 2 - Vocal Workshop (Vocal Techniques I-IV)

Period 4 - Greenwave Singers (Chorus I-II)

Period 6 - Planning

Period 8 - Soundwave (Chorus High/Low Range I-II)

Congratulations to the following students for winning awards for their roles in Sweeney Todd!

Morgan Beebe - Best Supporting Actress for her role as the Beggar Woman

Nicole Minott - Best Lead Actress, Runner Up for her role as Mrs. Lovett

Sydney Scodras - Best Supporting Actress, Runner Up for her role as Joanna

 

Sweeney Todd was a tremendous undertaking for us.  All of our students put their heart and soul into the production, and were rewarded with an experience unlike any other.  As I watched the video vignette last evening, I was reminded of what an incredibly talented and dedicated cast we had.  I am blessed to be able to work with the fine students of Fort Myers High School, and I look forward to many more opportunities to allow them to shine.

Congratulations to the whole cast for their hard work!

 

The chorus classes will be restructured next year in order to provide better vocal training for our students.  Here is a list of course offerings:

CURRICULAR CLASSES

Vocal Workshop

A non-auditioned chorus, all freshman girls and new singers from any grade will be placed in this ensemble.

Fermata (formerly Verdigris)

An auditioned women's ensemble for ladies in grades 10-12.

Soundwave

A women's showchoir and a cappella ensemble for grades 10-12.   Freshmen girls may audition if requested.

Greenwave Singers (New!)

An auditioned ensemble for men in grades 9-12 and women in grades 10-12, this choir will perform music from all cultures and genres.

In addition, the following EXTRA-CURRICULAR ensembles will be offered.  You must be enrolled in one of the above classes to participate in either of these groups.

Influx

A 16 voice a cappella ensemble for men and women.

Noteworthy (NEW!)

An all male a cappella ensemble.

 

Other electives:

Music Theory I:  If you want to know the basic structure and form of music, this class is for you!  No formal training or experience is needed.

AP Music Theory:  For students wishing to take the AP exam in Music Theory.  The pre-requisite is Music Theory I or permission from the instructor via a placement test.

Tyler Bishop, a member of Soundwave and Influx, has just received a full scholarship to the Music Theater department at Marshall University!  Way to go!

FOR PROSPECTIVE FRESHMEN

Fort Myers High School offers many different types of music classes.  There should be something here for everyone!  You can read more about the choirs on our "About Us" page, and hear clips of them on our "Music" page.

Verdigris

Fermata

Soundwave (ever watch Glee?)

Influx

Guitar

Piano

IB Theatre

We are also discussing the possibility of creating an early music ensemble which would specialize in music from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque musical periods.  This would be a joint project with Mr. Dahlberg and the Instrumental Music Department, and would be a fantastic opportunity to enrich our IB Music program.

What are you waiting for?  Come join the Greenwave Family Music Department!

We would like to arrange concerts in a few churches throughout the area.  Requirements would be good acoustics, a piano that's in tune, and maybe an organ.  Email Mr. Koller if you have a possible venue.

We are in need of an organ to use with our choral ensembles.  The organ would be used as a primary form of accompaniment.  It should be more of a "church" or "traditional" organ rather than a "theater" organ.  Examples could be a pump organ, reed organ, portative organ, or a newer model electric organ with traditional church stops. If you know of one that could be donated, please email Mr. Koller at matthewcko@leeschools.net.

Congratulations to the cast of Sweeney Todd! 

Sweeney Todd - Tyler Bishop

Mrs. Lovett - Nicole Minott

Johanna - Sydney Scodras

Anthony - Ian Gallogly

Judge Turpin - Michael Messina

The Beadle - Schuyler Kessler

Beggar Woman - Morgan Beebe

Toby - Alex Voelmle

ROLES TBD:  Pirelli, Jonas Fogg, Lucy Barker

Your first rehearsal is this Friday from 2-4.

Chorus parts will be posted on the chorus room door tomorrow morning.  Congratulations! 

Auditions for our 16 voice a cappella group INFLUX will be on Wednesday August 26 and Thursday August 27.  You will be required to prepare a song of your choice, any genre which you will sing a cappella.  There will also be three prepared pieces which will be available in the chorus room on the first day of school.

Auditions for our Fall Musical, Sweeney Todd, are upcoming also!  Dates and information are posted on the CALENDAR page!

Here's the official schedule for the chorus room this year! Classes will be on two days.  Day one is 1,3,5,7, Day two is 2,4,6,8.

Period 1 - AP Music Theory/Music Theory

Period 2 - Guitar/Keyboard (not sure of this combo yet)

Period 3 - Guitar/Keyboard

Period 4 - Soundwave

Period 5 - IB Theatre

Period 6 - PLANNING

Period 7 - Verdigris

Period 8 - Fermata (formerly Concert Choir)

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR A FANTASTIC YEAR!

New calendar dates for next year are now posted on the "calendar" page.  Included are the dates for INFLUX auditions.

Enjoy your summer!  You know where to reach me if you need something.

 

Congratulations to INFLUX who placed First Runner Up in the International Championship of High School A Cappella Southern Semifinals held at Cypress Lake High Schoo!  They performed I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, Dido's Lament, and Lizzie Borden.  Kelsey Pinkard performed the solo in Dido's Lament to rave reviews from the judges, and Ian Gallogly and Tyler Bishop received many compliments from audience members for their solos in Lizzie Borden.

I was extremely proud of their performance and of the effort they put forth in preparing for this.   I was equally impressed with how gracious and appreciative they were to the group that beat us, The Eighth Notes, from Texas A&M High School.  INFLUX gave them a standing ovation (the only other school to do so) and congratulated them for their outstanding performance.

It was a wonderful evening of a cappella music, and INFLUX made Fort Myers High School proud, both in performance and attitude.

Go Greenies!

Last evening our women’s chorus, Verdigris, participated in the Florida Vocal Association MPA (music performance assessment). We prepared two selections for three judges who adjudicated us, and then we had to sight read a rhythmic exercise and a three part vocal exercise. Our young ladies received four SUPERIOR ratings, the highest possible. All of the judges were impressed with the maturity of our sound. Some of the comments we received were, “Beautiful tone, ladies. The sound is so free and unified.” and “I love your sound! You have a great sense of ensemble, balance, and blend”. Congratulations!

Soundwave, Fort Myers High School's show choir, opened for Gavin DeGraw yesterday at the Edison Festival of Light Stadium Show! They performed Accidentally In Love, Friends in Low Places, Where Is The Love, Jesus Take The Wheel, and Life Is A Highway. They were also joined by members of the GREASE cast performing We Go Together and Grease Lighting. It was a very exciting experience for all of us. We would like to express our gratitude to the folks from the Edison Festival, especially John Taylor and Emory, the sound technicians from Brent's Music, and Gavin DeGraw for taking a few minutes to chat with us yesterday. Congratulations, Soundwave!

Hey everyone! We are pleased that you have taken an opportunity to look at our choral program. Please browse this website and see if any of our ensembles spark your interest! You can listen to each of the groups on our "music" page. If you are lucky enough to be selected to attend FMHS, give me a call and we can find the ensemble that best fits you! I look forward to hearing from you.

Please be sure you check the "calendar" section of our website for all of our performance dates. We have several shows coming up for each ensemble.

Thursday, December 4 – Meeting in theatre
Tuesday, December 9 – Vocal Auditions
Wednesday, December 10 – Acting Auditions
Thursday, December 11 – Dance Auditions




You MUST participate in all of the auditions if you want a spot in this year’s production.

New York Chaperone Questionnaire

Please complete the following questions and submit by Friday, October 10, 2008. Questionnaire must be completed and submitted no later than 7:30 am Friday morning. We will be taking 18 chaperones to New York and thank you for offering your assistance.

1. Please state your name.
2. Who is your child and what grade is the child in?
3. What ensemble class is your child in?
4. Are you willing to pay full price to chaperone?
5. Have you ever traveled to New York City?
6. Have you ever traveled via airplane?
7. Do you have experience using the subway system?
8. What has been your contact with our current students? How well do you know the chorus and band students?
9. Do you have a child in Instrumental music AND in chorus?
10. What fundraisers have you chaired or been active in with the music department?
11. What activities have you chaperoned? What is your chaperone experience in and out of the music department?
12. Are you comfortable being in charge of ten high school students while in New York?

'nuff said. Scroll to the bottom!

Auditions for our a cappella group will take place on Tuesday, August 26 from 2:00 until we're done.

There will be an informational meeting to discuss the audition process on Wednesday August 20 from 2:00-2:30.

Please see Mr. Koller if you have any questions.

These are the hours that Mr. Koller will be available in his room the week before school begins:

Monday 8/11 - 1:30-3:30
Tuesday 8/12 - None
Wednesday 8/13 - None
Thursday 8/14 - 1:30-3:30
Thursday 8/14 - 4:00-6:00 (New Student Orientation)
Friday 8/15 - 8:00-9:00, 2:30-3:30

See you next week!

Have a great summer everyone! Thanks for making my first year at FMHS a great one. Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors!

See you in August.

The Fort Myers Choral Department is proud to announce that our first CD featuring INFLUX and Verdigris is now available! The CD costs $10.00 and there are 15 tracks. Please see Mr. Koller to purchase your copy. If you are not an FMHS student, you may email Mr. Koller.