Bates Middle School Vocal Arts Students Set to Show Off Skills at Navy Birthday Celebration

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION:

As part of the government shut down effective October 1, 2013 the USNA band march on Maryland Avenue and musical tribute on the State House steps in honor of the 238th NAVY birthday scheduled on Monday October 7^th between 4 and 5:30 pm EST has been cancelled

If it wasn’t for music and singing, the world would be bland. Though it would be nice to be subjected to fewer singing reality T.V. shows, exercise would be even more daunting, holidays would be too quiet, and that jingle within our own heads that gets us through the day would be supplanted with who knows what. Music and singing allow us to express and grapple with our feelings, celebrate seasons effortlessly, and be connected to one another despite generational bounds. To Wiley H. Bates Middle School’s Performing Arts Choir Program, singing means all these things and more. We caught up with Penny Renoll, Director of the vocal arts program, to learn about the impressive program and what it takes to be part of the choir.

Bates serves grades six through eight and has been a longstanding place for middle schoolers to receive a well-rounded education inspired by the dreams of Mr. Wiley H. Bates, an Annapolis philanthropist for whom the school is named. Bates is a magnet school and affords students the chance to peruse one area of creativity, like dance, vocal arts, creative writing, or visual arts. Students at Bates must work to excel not only at school, but also at the added component–like vocal arts–they take on. For the students who participate in the vocal arts program, practicing vowel sounds, reading music, and learning to properly use pitch are part of the daily duties. These skills allow students to wow with concert tunes, chorus music, and “gig or showy-style numbers,” as Renoll outlines.

Renoll gives props to her students: “These kids are like child actors and actresses; they work so hard!” And indeed they do. Renoll explained the students in the vocal arts program must audition for parts and practice a few hours every day as part of the curriculum. As a result, Renoll has been able to take her students to what she deems, “high caliber functions”: performances at U.S. Postal Service Headquarters, the Italian Embassy, North American Association for Environmental Education in Baltimore, and even to meet Cal Ripken Jr. and the Italian Ambassador.

The students perform for some impressive audiences around Annapolis too; the most notable is the upcoming performance for Navy’s Birthday. Renoll described that the performance will take place on the steps at the State House on Monday, October 7 at 4:30 p.m. The vocal arts students will perform “To Those Who Serve” and another patriotic medley after the USNA Band’s patriotic performance. Bates’s vocal arts students also do shows around the city, like at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.

The recognition these students have received don’t just stop with performances. Since the vocal arts program’s inception five years ago, Renoll’s students have qualified for the Maryland Choral Festival, a musical extravaganza that pulls choral groups from all over the state. Even if you’re not into music or chorus, you must admit these students have an impressive musical resume.

Though her students are shining stars, Renoll deserves some credit too! Renoll, along with other vocal arts program coordinators at Bates, initiated the program some five years ago. To contextualize here, the program is still in its early years but already, Renoll and her students practice, prepare, and perform nearly 20 shows per year. What a testament to the power of voice!

Now that’ve you read about Bates’s vocal arts program, take the time to hear about it (literally) with the upcoming Navy Birthday performance. The show is free and set up downtown on the State House Steps.

Have a child interested in fine-tuning vocal, art, or creative writing skills? Bates’s Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program hosts an information night at the middle school from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on October 21. Meet teachers, instructors, and the means through which your child could express the arts. The Anne Arundel County Public School site (linked here) features more administrative info on Bates.

Penny Renoll and her vocal arts team at Bates are changing the way students view music, by awarding them great opportunities and providing them with skills to excel. Celebrate the fact that music exists in the world by supporting Bates and budding vocalists around you.