Cypress Lake Vocal Department: News

Results for this year's A Cappella Group will be posted TOMORROW (Monday) night on this site.

I need to hear a few people sing tomorrow. If you auditioned, please be prepared to sing There She Goes again tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience.

Another school year has begun and I would like to welcome everyone back to school. I am looking forward to a great year. There are many events coming up soon, so check your calendars and the handbook and stay on top of things.

There is a mandatory event for all members on Friday, August 31. Our annual Choir Camp will take place on this day.

Parents, please make use of the calendar and handbook sections of this site. They will be a great reference.

The A Cappella Group will be in the studio Sunday, July 22 at noon. The studio is located on Danley Drive right across from the Page Field Airport Terminal. The official address is 214 3rd Street, but the parking lot is off Danley Drive between 3rd and 4th streets.

Our very own The A Cappella Group was featured on Arts Edition on WGCU Concert 90 yesterday. The hour long radio show had Mr. Stroh, Danielle Barnes and Katie Campbell in the studio talking a cappella with host Amy Tardiff. If you missed it, you can listen to the entire show at http://www.wgcu.org/arts_edition.asp
Select the Real Player or Windows Media Player versions.

As the final school days tick off the calendar, I just want to thank everyone for a great year. From Coast to Coast and all of the great music in between. Have a great summer everyone!

Seniors - Good Luck and don't forget to keep in touch.

Everyone else - see you next year!!! Stay safe and healthy through the summer.

The annual Vocal Department Banquet will take place Friday, May 11 in the Center for the Arts Art Gallery. Tickets are $10 to cover the cost of food and seniors are free. The menu will be delicious Italian fare including Fettuccini Alfredo, Chicken Parmesian, Cappellini Caprese, salad, garlic rolls and dessert. Come and enjoy great food and even fonder memories of the year as we celebrate and send our seniors off into the sunset.

Dinner will be served at 6:30. We request that all attendees dress up for the festive occasion.

The A Cappella Group had the opportunity of a lifetime Saturday night as they performed in the National Finals of the International Championship of High School A Cappella. The group gave a great performance and had the sold out Lincoln Center crowd cheering for more. The entire group was pumped after getting off the stage. Hands had at least one woman in the crowd drying the tears and Be Careful What You Eat had the audience laughing out loud.

The group finished in 3rd place on the evening. The winners for the second year in a row were the Men of Note from Cherry Hill High School in New Jersey. Second place went to Crimson from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado.

We were honored to be a part of the show and see the amazing college groups as well. The group is now determined to get back to New York and go for the championship next year.

A special thank you goes out to everyone who helped to get us there. The generosity of so many people that mailed us donations, the parents that worked like crazy to put together the pre-New York concert and silent auction. We hope to see you all at our Spring Concert this Wednesday night, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cypress Lake High School Auditorium.

Due to popular demand and all of the local press coverage, we have added a concert. The A Cappella Group will be performing in concert on Saturday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cypress Lake High School Auditorium. Hear a variety of music from Doo-Wop to today's current hits done entirely without instruments. Check out the group as they prepare for the National Finals of the International Championship of High School A Cappella in New York City. Tickets are only $5.00 and are available now or at the door. For pre-sale tickets or more information - please call 464-5012.

There will also be a silent auction at the concert. We have lined up an amazing amount of item for the auction, so bring your checkbooks!!

The group will also be appearing in Naples on Sunday, April 29th at 4:00 p.m. The concert is being hosted by Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church and will be part of their concert series.

Please take advantage of these opportunities to hear TAG - The A Cappella Group.

See Justin perform "Meltdown!" on the today show.
Justin on The Today Show

The Cypress Lake Center for the Arts Vocal Department is proud to welcome In Concert - National recording artist JUSTIN ROBERTS!!!!

"A rising star in the world of children's music."

-New York Times

Like a scene in the movie "Groundhog Day," the event repeats itself over and over. Bass and drums pound out the beat in perfect unison. Bodies spring to their feet and rush the stage--jumping, dancing and bouncing off each other like bumper cars. The concertgoers behave like children. Which is no surprise, because they are children, participating in a kiddie mosh pit found at nearly every Justin Roberts' concert.

Anyone who's ever been to a Justin Roberts' show knows that his music connects with kids in a unique way. Sure, they relate to songs about bullies, dinosaurs and losing teeth. And of course they're attracted to Justin's warm voice, often compared to James Taylor. But in the end, it's Justin's indelible pop hooks that seem to keep kids coming back for more.

Justin's latest CD Meltdown! was voted best CD of 2006 for kids and families. With one listen, you will understand why.

This will be Justin's first appearance in Southwest Florida and we are very excited to have him on our stage.

This will be a vocal department fundraiser and we need everyone to help spread the word about this amazing artist.

The concert will be April 1, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets will be $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Children under 2 are free. Tickets are available by calling 239-481-2233 or going to the "Buy" section on this site. All seats are reserved, so get your tickets early and you too can be near the kiddie mosh pit.

Justin Robert's Website

Our very own The A Cappella Group were named champions of the South Saturday night at the ICHSA South Semifinal. Cypress Lake gave a very spirited performance and brought home the top award. We also won best choreography. The A Cappella Group will now represent the South at the ICHSA National Finals in New York City. The Finals will be at Lincoln Center on April 21.

The International Championship of High School A Cappella South Region Semifinal featured four very strong competitors and we are very fortunate to have come out on top. George Jenkins High School Diamond Dozen started the show with a great performance. They placed third and took the award for best soloist. Diamond Dozen represented the South last year in the National Finals. They were strong again this year. Newcomers Fort Myers High School Influx gave a great vocal performance and won second place overall in their very first competition. Fort Myers also won best vocal percussion. The After School Specials from Palm Harbor University High School were also competing in their first competition. Although they did not win any awards, they were very good and highly entertaining. They will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The A Cappella Group from Cypress Lake were not quite on their game vocally, but won over the crowd and the judge's with their enthusiasm and showmanship.

It was great to see such great performances at this competition. It is also good to see new a cappella groups in our area. We also must give special thanks to The Academical Village People for being our guests for the weekend. Thanks to everyone who attended and we will see you in New York!!!

The vocal department would like to welcome our special guests The Academical Village People. This award winning group from the University of Virginia will be here this weekend. They will be performing for the school along with our a cappella group on Friday afternoon. They will then be workshopping with the group after school today. They will then be the guest artists on Saturday at the International Championship of High School A Cappella South Semi-final. I hope that you will take the opportunity to catch this amazing group while they are here with us.

The Center for the Arts choirs both received Superior ratings at the Florida Vocal Association District Music Performance Assessment last night.

Intermezzo was at their best and gave a wonderful performance. They earned Superior ratings from all of the judges. Comments included - "Wonderful, mature sound," "Sound is free and beautiful,: and "Bravo ladies." The sight reading judge even thanked the girls for "giving him a workshop." Congrats to our lovely ladies in Intermezzo.

Cypress Chorale also performed well. After a tumultuous week of getting the pieces ready, they were able to pull it off and received ratings of Superior, Excellent and Superior from the three judges on stage. They did well in sight reading and earned a Superior. This marks the sixth year in a row that Chorale has gotten a Superior at the District MPA.

Congrats to both choirs for a job well done. Recordings of both performances can be found in the music section of the website.

It is that time of year again and Intermezzo and Cypress Chorale will be traveling to North Port High School to participate in the Florida Vocal Association District Music Performance Assessment.

Here are the details for the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts choirs at District Choral MPA. The MPA will be held at North Port High School on February 15, 2007. Our choirs perform in the 2nd block on Thursday. The block begins at 5:45 and ends at 9:00. Both Intermezzo and Cypress Chorale will perform during this block. All members of all choirs must remain for the entire duration of the block.

We will be traveling by charter bus. The buses will depart Cypress between 2:30 p.m. We will start loading the buses at 2:00 p.m. All students should bring their concert attire to school that day. We will be stopping along the way to get food, so please make sure you have enough money to eat dinner. We will be arriving at North Port High School between 5:00 and 5:15 p.m. You will then need to get dressed and prepare for our traditional warm-up circles. We will enter the auditorium at 5:45 p.m.

The buses will be leaving North Port after the performance by 9:30. That will means we will arrive back at Cypress between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m.

I am still in need of 4-5 parents to chaperone this trip. Please call me or e-mail me at garyrs@leeschools.net if you are able to chaperone.

Here are directions to North Port High School for those parents that would like to attend the performance. North Port High School
6400 W Price Blvd, North Port, FL 34286
(941) 423-8558
From I-75
1. Take exit #182 towards NORTH PORT (US-41) - go 0.4 mi
2. Turn Left on N SUMTER BLVD - go 2.2 mi
3. Turn Right on W PRICE BLVD - go 1.3 mi
4. Arrive at 6400 W PRICE BLVD, NORTH PORT, on the Right

This is just a reminder that the final California payment is due on February 16. This is a firm and final deadline. All checks must be received on this day.

All students received a final invoice detailing their payments and fundraising and giving a final payment total. If you have not seen this, let me know and I can print another one for you.

Remember, checks are payable to Cypress Lake High School.

The first track from the upcoming second CD from The A Cappella Group is finished and is being submitted for this year's Best of High School A Cappella Compilation CD. You can hear a clip of the song in the music section.

The A Cappella Group was honored last year by having a song chosen for the BOHSA CD 2006 edition. Look out for the new CD in May.

Happy 2007 to everybody and welcome back. We have to hit the ground running. District Choral MPA is in 6 weeks. The A Cappella South Semi-Final is in exactly two months with a trip to New York City on the line and the California Trip is only 77 days away!!!!

I hope everyone is ready to go and make 2007 a memorable one.

It is the holiday season and I would like to wish the students and families of the vocal department a festive holiday season.

Don't forget - The TAG A Cappella Group CD makes a wonderful stocking stuffer.

Thanks to the folks at Gulf Harbor for inviting us to sing for their Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. A special thanks also goes out to the Gateway Women's Club for having the A Cappella Group to sing for their luncheon. The Women's Club was also very generous by buying 18 TAG CDs. Thank you ladies!

There are two more A Cappella Group Performances. Dec. 15 at 2:00 at the Sunshine Cafe on Winkler Road and Dec. 16 and a private party.

Travel safely and have a wonderful holiday season.

Breaking News - The Madrigal Dinner is SOLD OUT!!

There is a rehearsal Thursday afternoon from 2:00-4:30 in the Black Box Theatre.

Students will stay at school all day Friday. We will rehearse, set-up and eat dinner before the show.

Students need to be at school at 5:00 pm on Saturday.

For those attending the dinner, the show starts at 6:30 each night. There will be pre-show caroling in front of the Black Box at 6:15. The dinners usually end around 9:00 pm

We will need some help each evening after the dinners to help clean up the theatre.

Thanks to Mrs. Bode's husband, we have some great photos of the musical. These were taken during the Sunday matinee performance. You can order any of the photos directly from Kodak through the site.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=vcdgdy5.7v8fwit9&Uy=-ycsdz1&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=252186121296_486826352109

Congratulations to the following vocal department members who made the 2006 All-State Choirs!

9-12 Senior High Chorus
Jacqueline Martin (2nd time)

SSAA Women's Chorus
Cheyanne Watt (1st time)
Jessica Bays (1st time)

TTBB Men's Chorus
Osvaldo Vargas (2nd time)

These students will now travel to Tampa in January to sing with the best singers from around the state.

Congratulations!!

Check out the latest photos of the cutest toddler in the world - Conner. He wrote the captions himself.

The 6th Annual Madrigal Dinner is scheduled for December 1 & 2 in the Black Box Theatre. We turn the Black Box into a 16th century English banquet hall and recreate a festive holiday musical feast. Delicious food, authentic costumes and beautiful English Madrigal music all combine to make this a holiday tradition for many. Tickets are limited to 152 per night and we have sold out the past two years. Tickets are now available, so call 481-2233 or get in touch with Mr. Stroh to get your tickets today.

The long awaited field trip to the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is finally upon us. Students will be dismissed from school at 11:30 on Thursday, October 26. Just a reminder that all students must turn in the permission form for content as well as the transportation form in order to attend. The show will end around 3:45 pm. You will not have to go back to school after the school.

The Broadway Palm does have a dress code and we will follow it. Students may not wear jeans or shorts. Dress slacks and a collared shirt for the guys and dress pants or skirt or dress for the girls.

The first Cabaret of the year will be held Thursday, October 5 in the auditorium. The cabarets are the chance for members of the vocal department to show off their individual talents. Solos, duets and small group numbers will all be seen. Students will be performing classical arias, musical theatre songs, contemporary christian song, today's hits and many other vocal styles. Don't miss this great opportunity to hear the amazing talent the vocal department has to offer.

You will also get a chance to hear The A Cappella Group in their first real performance of the year.

Tickets are only $5.00 and available from any vocal department member or at the door.

The media department is starting a "pawd"cast covering events at Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. The first pawdcast features the auditions for The A Cappella Group. It is a well done piece and you can check it out at www.cypresslakehigh.com Look for the link on the lower left part of the homepage.