Seven Botetourt County high school choral members attended the  Choral  Leadership Workshop 2012 on Saturday, September 8 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Schewel Center in the Sydnor Performance Hall and Hebb Music Center at Lynchburg College.

Lynchburg College provided lunch, student leaders and wonderful  vocal instruction from clinician Dr. Jong H. Kim Lynchburg College Professor of Music and accompanist Melanie Coleman, choir director at the Amherst County High School. Choirs from all over the region attended. LC choral concert group members were day long assistants. Lynchburg concert choir performed three pieces and then it was time to join the high school students. The high school choir performed  Aaron Copeland’s ” Zion’s Walls” and a traditional African melody from Zambia called, “Bonse Aba,” after just a few hours practice.

Those who attended from Lord Botetourt were Meagan Kingery and Katrina Weirup. Students from James River were Morgan Rakes, Julia Ewen, Taylor Johns, Hannah Austin and Tiffany Brandt. ( Absent JR’s Katie Lee Melvin who was ill.) BCPS high school Choir Director Joel Bremner accompanied the Botetourt County students.

The object of the day was for choral leadership in  student choirs to go back and impart the knowledge of vocal exercise and other important voice training to their fellow members. Bremner held a two-day leadership event in the summer for select choir members to prepare  for leadership training events like this one.

After the event, the Botetourt girls showed Bremner a harmonized version of the “Hokey Pokey,” that they worked up during lunch! Then it was on to dinner at the Ward’s Road “Famous Anthony’s” with a few parents along for the fun.