Cane Bay High’s Ladies Honors Choir selected to perform at South Carolina American Choral Directors Association Conference
October 12, 2015
MONCKS CORNER, SC – The Cane Bay High School Ladies Honors Choir was selected to perform during the opening concert of the South Carolina American Choral Directors Association (SCACDA) Fall Conference at Southern Wesleyan University in Anderson, SC, on October 23, 2015.
The Ladies Honors Choir was selected after enduring a rigorous audition process where it was judged by a panel of choir directors from across the state. The Ladies Honors Choir is one of two high school choirs selected to perform during the conference, one of only five performing choirs in the state that was selected, and the only single gender choir selected.
William Bennett, Director of Choirs at Cane Bay High School and a 2015 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Top-Ten Finalist, said, “This is a huge honor and opportunity for our choir and for these ladies. They will present a 20-minute performance, entitled “One Voice,” for hundreds of their peers and choir directors from across the state, and the Southeast region. This performance explores the variety of emotions, sounds and colors that the female voice can produce.”
Centered on the Wailin Jennys’ folk song, “One Voice,” the performance also will feature two French settings, “Ah, si mon moine voulet danser,” by Donald Patriquin, and “Nuit D’etoiles” by Claude Debussy; a performance of the empowering “Letter from a Girl to the World” by Dr. Andrea Ramsey, in which the choir adds its own lyrics; and the energetic dance tune “La Paloma,” arranged by Christian Grases. This is the Cane Bay Choirs’ second group selected to perform during this prestigious event, with their last performance being on the 2013 Fall Conference. This is the first major conference performance for the Ladies Honors Choir.
The Ladies Honors Choir is the top performing women’s ensemble at Cane Bay High School. The ensemble focuses on advanced level choral techniques, sight-reading and musicianship skills, music theory and music history. An audition is required for placement in this ensemble. In addition to three major annual concerts, the Ladies Choir also performs at school and community functions throughout the year.
Students who participate in this ensemble have participated in the Berkeley County All-County Chorus, the South Carolina Music Educators Association All-state Choirs (SCMEA), the SCACDA State Honor Choirs, the American Choral Directors Association Regional Honor Choirs, and Solo and Ensemble Festivals. Since its inaugural season in 2009, the choir has consistently received Superior Ratings in both performance and sight-reading at the SCMEA State Choral Festival, placing as high as 4th in its division. The Ladies Honors Choir performs annually for Y102.5’s “Christmas Live” and the Annual Cane Bay High School Talent Show. It also presents “Ladies Night,” an annual variety show.
This year, in addition to its performance at SCACDA, the choir will perform at the Berkeley Electric Co-Op General Meeting on November 14, 2015. It will present a featured performance of Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” in December, compete at the Lander Choral Festival in February, compete at the SCMEA State Choral Festival in March, and present “Ladies Night 2016” in May, 2016.
For more information about the Ladies Honors Choir and all of the Cane Bay Choirs, please visitwww.canebaychoirs.com.
