Cypress Lake Vocal Department: News

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.

Here is the highly anticipated cast list for the musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Mr. Loete, Mrs. Gair and myself have spent many hours pouring over the audition sheets and trying to come up with the best possible cast. As with all auditions, there are going to be some students who are very disappointed. Let me tell you that we struggled with coming up with what we think will be the best possible cast. We would be more than happy to discuss your audition and answer any questions that you may have. If you did not get a part, or you didn't get the part you wanted, I would seriously suggest that you ask about your audition so that you can make improvements for the next audition that you do.

Without further ado, here is the cast list. Please check the Black Box call board tomorrow for information about the first cast meeting.

Voice of the Narrator - Chris Longfield-Smith
J. Pierrepont Finch - Trevor Beauvois-Kinney
Rosemary Pilkington - Katie Campbell
Bud Frump - Michael Garand
Smitty - Stephanie Christiano
J.B. Biggley - Nick Saldivar
Hedy LaRue - Amanda Hootman
Bert Bratt - Clay Young
Miss Jones - Carla Martinez
Twimble - Parker Slaybaugh
Miss Krumholz - Caitlin McBride
Wally Womper - Chris Longfield-Smith

JUNIOR EXECUTIVES
Gatch - Charles Young
Jenkins - Connor Zerilla
Tackaberry - Eli D. Johnson
Toynbee - Bobby Walsh
Ovington - Michael Bertino
Matthews - Taylor Terlep
Peterson - Channy Guak
Davis - Devin Dietsch
Johnson - Hunter Thompson

EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES
Danielle Barnes
Jessica Bays
Brianna Bellamy
Chelsie Brugger
Maicie Clark
Sami Doherty
Dana Giffin
Quinnisha Goodley
Amanda Hunter
Carly Keim
Robin Koogle
Brittani Walsh

OFFICE BOYS
Joe Bell
Tony Frantz
Chris Longfield-Smith
Jeremy Miller
Mike Nance
Blake Shelton
Ozzy Vargas

RECEPTIONISTS
Erin Earnest
Callie Ferraro
Lexy King
Adelie Landis
Krissy Martin
Rachel Mitnick
Angelina Montes

J. Pierrepont Finch Understudy - Eli D. Johnson

Actually, we are going to watch people take it almost all off. We are planning a trip to see The Full Monty at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. The show, which is an Americanized version of the movie by the same name, tells the story of factory workers who have been laid off and have tried everything they can do to make money for their families except one - male exotic dancing. The comedy follows them as they train for their big debut. With music from the writer of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the rock show will have you laughing until your pants split.

We will be attending the October 26th matinee. The cost of the show will be $19. This includes the full buffet and the show. We will depart school at 11:30 a.m. and the show will be over approx. 3:45 p.m.

If you are interested, please bring your money (checks payable to Cypress Lake High School) and sign up with Mr. Stroh by September 1.

Thanks to everyone for a good camp. Just a reminder that there is no camp today for those of you who may have forgotten.

I apologize to everyone for the delay. It has really been an agonizing decision and I have thought about it a great deal. I want to thank everyone for auditioning. I was very impressed with many new members, as well as great improvements from many returning members. As I have told you many times, making these decisions is one of the hardest things that I have to do. I do not take these decisions lightly.

There are going to be a few changes this year. There are some very good singers that are being left out of the group this year just because there is a limit to the size. There have been some serious problems in the past with the committment and dedication that certain members have not demonstrated. I have never removed anyone from the group. That will not be the case this year. There are many very qualified replacements ready and willing to take over a spot. I want all members to know this going in.

Without further ado - Here is this year's A Cappella Group

Sopranos

Danielle Barnes
Katie Campbell
Kelly Charles
Jaynee Denslow
Sami Doherty
Taylor Griffith

Altos

Myra Christman
Lauren Davis
Nicole Davis
Brittany Gibson
Carley Keim
Alaina Mulligan

Tenors

Arlington Babb
Ian Castro
Devin Dietsch
Taylor Terlep
Ozzie Vargas

Basses

Joe Bell
Drew Dorman
Dan Fuciu
Michael Garand
Karjan McGill
Blake Shelton

After two years of hurricane cancellations, Choir Camp is scheduled to make its return this year. This is a mandatory event for all vocal majors and minors and will take place Friday, August 18 and Saturday, August 19. Just because it is mandatory, doesn't mean that it won't be fun.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, "What is Choir Camp exactly?" Choir Camp is a great opportunity to meet new members, get a great headstart on learning new music, having fun with friends and doing what we all like to do - SINGING!!

The camp is a two day jump start to the new school year. This is the time that all of the members get to come together and start to form the family that is the vocal department. Activities like the Choir Olympics and the Dance allow members to interact with members that they don't know and make new friends.

The camp schedule will be roughly as follows:

Friday
2:00-4:00 - Choir Olympics
4:00-5:30 - Sectionals
5:30-6:15 - Dinner
6:15-8:00 - Sectionals
8:00-8:30 - Full Choir rehearsal
8:30-10:00 - Dance Party

Saturday
9:00-9:20 - Wake-up and Warm-up
9:20-11:00 - Sectionals
11:00-11:45 - Full Choir rehearsal
11:45-12:30 - Lunch
12:30-1:30 - Sectional
1:30-2:00 Full Choir
2:00 - Performance for the parents
2:30 - Go home and sleep!!

Please make sure your calendars are clear this weekend because it is a mandatory event. The cost of the camp is just $10 to cover food costs.

Parents - We Need You. We need parents to help with dinner on Friday night and lunch on Saturday. If interested, please use the form on the contact page to send me a message.

Hopefully, we can stay hurricane free this year and choir camp can return as a yearly vocal department tradition.

For those of you auditioning for The A Cappella Group, there is now help for you online. If you look in the music section, you will find a folder titled A Cappella Group auditions. Inside this folder are the individual parts to the group audition number. There are two versions of each part. One at a slow tempo so that you can learn the part and one at the actual tempo once you know the part. You will hear the other parts very softly in the background. As with all music on the site, these tracks can also be downloaded to your computer or iPod.

This is the 4th in the week-long series to get everyone ready for the new school year.

The A Cappella Group is about to enter it's fourth year of existence. For those of you who haven't seen or heard our a cappella group - go here http://cdbaby.com/cd/acappellagroup and listen to some samples. Contempory A Cappella is a phenomenon that has taken the college world by storm over the past two decades and is just now, over the last two or three years, spread like wildfire to high schools throughout the country. It is an evolution of doo-wop and barbershop that mirrors the music of today.

Using only voices, contemporary a cappella groups recreate today’s pop hits, yesterday’s classics and everything in between. Our group has been doing it very well over the past three years and we need a few good members in order to keep it going strong.

The auditions for The A Cappella Group will take place on Monday, August 14 and Tuesday, August 15 in the choir room. You only need to attend one of the days. There will be two parts to the audition – solo singing and group singing. For the solo singing portion, you need to prepare a solo from a pop, rock, alternative style song that will show off your ability to sing lead. Please stay away from classical, musical theatre, folk songs, etc. Your solo should be no longer than 1 minute long and needs to be a cappella. For the group singing portion, you will perform an excerpt of a four part piece in groups of four with one person on a part. You can pick up the music for the group piece on the first day of school from Mr. Stroh.

In order to have a successful audition, you need to do the following in your audition.
1. Sing in tune!! This is the most important element. Your solo needs to start in one key and end in the same key without any transpositions taking place in the middle.
2. Be able to be secure on your part during the group singing. The majority of singing that you will do if you are in the group is part singing so you must be able to do it well and be independent while doing it.
3. Be expressive while singing. In order to perform this music successfully, you can’t stand like a robot and just sing. You need to use your face and entire body to be expressive and convey the meaning of the song.

I hope that you will consider being a part of The A Cappella Group and try-out during one of these two days. Pick a song that you sound great on and really make it your own. Make sure that you pick-up the music for the group singing portion on the first day of school, so you will have plenty of time to prepare. There were some great solo auditions last year, that did not sing well during the group portion. Take both parts of the audition seriously.

I am just curious to see how many people are actually reading these articles, so we are going to try something. If you come to the open house tomorrow and stop by the choir room, you need to say the codeword “tippy toe” and you will get a tasty reward. All you have to do is say “tippy toe” so stop by the choir room and claim your reward.

Performing is one of the highlights as a member of the vocal department at Cypress Lake Center for the Arts. Being on the stage while performing an amazing piece of music for people that you know are going to go wild at the end is quite a rush. The only thing that could ruin that feeling is to not look good at the time. We make sure that all of performers look as good as the performances that they give. We have a unified concert attire that is the same for vocal, band and orchestra. We have several members that are in ensembles in two or more departments so this uniformity is very helpful.

For the ladies, we feature a simple, floor length black dress. The dress is very simple and understated, but looks great on stage. The dress is also flattering on all body types. The dress has remained the same for the past five years and we have no intention of changing it any time soon. This means that you will only have a one time investment that should last you all four years.

One other great feature about the dress is that it is nearly indestructable. We have had members leave the dress wadded in the corner of their closet for months and are able to pull it out on the day of the concert and look great. We order the dress during the 3rd week of school to take advantage of group discounts and groups shipping rates. The cost of the dress will be approximately $65.00. You will get the exact price of the dress when the orders are taken.

For the gentlemen, we feature a simple classic black tuxedo. Black tux jacket and tux pants anchor the classic black tux. We add the white tuxedo shirt and a black bow tie and cummerbund and you have great looking guys on stage. We have a supplier that is going to supply a complete tux for $100.00 this year. You will receive more information during the first week of school. If you already own a classic black tux, then you may wear it without purchasing a new one. This is a great deal that we have found for you, but you are not obligated to purchase your tux from this supplier. You are welcome to get your tux anywhere, as long it is the corrrect style.

Looking good is an important aspect of performing on stage, and all of our ensembles take pride in not only sounding great, but looking great as well.

Installment 2 in this week- long back to school information blitz.

All members of Cypress Chorale and Intermezzo are required to have their music during each and every rehearsal. In order to keep the music organized and to maintain a unified look on stage, all vocal department members must purchase a choir folder. This is a one-time purchase and with proper care, this folder will last for not only the 4 years at Cypress, but for many beyond that as the students move into College Choirs or Church Choirs.

The folder can be seen here http://www.musicfolder.com/english/usd-store/ecbf.html . This is the best choral folder available and has great features that are described in the article. Each folder will have gold embossing on the cover that reads: Cypress Lake Center for the Arts Vocal Music Department. Each folder will also be embossed with the student's individual names on the cover. All new members are required to purchase this folder. Returning members that have lost theirs will also have to purchase a new folder. The cost for the folder this year is $26.00

The orders for the folders will be placed during the first week of school. Returning members will need to let Mr. Stroh know if they need a replacement. New members will just need to confirm the spelling of the name to be placed on the folder.

Greetings everyone! As we approach the first day of school, there will be new info on the site everyday to help you get ready. These articles will appear in the News section and will also be seen on the home page.

Today's updates are to the photo gallery and the music sections. The photo gallery has some current photos of Conner, my 1 year old son for you new members. It also will have some more pictures from last year. The music section now has last year's complete state performance. It will also feature every complete state performance from the past 5 years as well.

Please keep checking back often and let me know if there is anything that you would like to see on the site. Just leave a message in the guestbook section.

Most of should have received your schedules for the upcoming school by now. Due to a computer glitch, all choir students, both Center and non-Center, were randomly placed in any choir. The shedules that you received are most likely incorrect. I spent about 3 hours with Mrs. Meagher, the assistant principal in charge of curriculum, fixing all of your schedules. Please don't call the guidance offices about your schedules. They are now correct and you should be good to go on the first day of school.

There is once concern that involves about 6 or 7 freshman girls. When we made the switch to the correct choir, it did not allow a space to take personal fitness or health this year. When looking for alternatives, Mrs. Meagher placed this group of girls in ROTC. The advantages of taking ROTC for the entire year are that you get a PE credit that you will need to graduate and you will not have to take health at any time. The other advantage is that you will not have to do it alone, as there is a group of you in this class. I'm sure that you can come up with the disadvantages. This will only affect those freshman girls who have chorus during 3rd period on the schedule that you received in the mail. It does not affect all girls that had chorus 3rd period, just 6 or 7. If this applies to you, you may want to contact the guidance department to check on your schedule and see if there are alternatives.

Pack your bags, we're going to California. The vocal department and band departments are planning a joint trip to Los Angelos in March. We are submitting the paperwork to the school district and the trip is subject to their approval. If approved, The Cypress Chorale and Intermezzo, along with the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band will be participating the Heritage Festival. The festival in an adjudicated event. All performing groups will also get a clinic with one of the adjudicators. There is also an awards ceremony and dinner/dance for all performing members of every group in the festival which takes place in Disneyland. In addition to the performances, we will be seeing the sights along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, putting our hands in the cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, checking out the Pacific Ocean and mingling with celebrities. We will also spend a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Most experts consider this to be the second greatest roller coaster destination in the world. There are 17 roller coasters at this one amusement park. The only thing we won't be doing is sleeping much.

The trip will begin on Thursday, March 22, 2007 with a cross country plane ride. We will return on Monday, March 26. Many more details will be given once we get back to school. Start saving your pennies now. Since both choirs will be performing, we need everyone to go on this trip. There will be plenty of fundraising opportunities.

We will be scheduling a parent meeting once school begins so we can get all of the information out to everyone.

I am very excited and think it can be an amazing trip. I would like to know your thoughts as well, so please feel free to leave comments in the Guestbook.

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of summer and see you on August 8th.

Our very own The A Cappella Group has been featured on a national podcast. Acappella U is a biweekly podcast featuring the best college a cappella from across the country and the world. The current episode is a high school shootout episode in which only high school groups are featured. Bring Me To Life is featured and the host has some great things to say about it.

If you are a fan of a cappella, you may want to add this free podcast to your itunes subscriptions. The podcast is free and available on itunes by searching acappellau. You can also learn more about the podcast by visiting their website: http://www.acappellau.com/
Congratulations to you A Cappella Group members and happy listening.

Welcome to all of our new members! I hope you are having a great summer and are looking forward to coming to Cypress Lake. You have found the official website of the Cypress Lake Vocal Department. Please take a look around and get to know about us. You can hear recordings from the past several years in the Music section, check out the calendar dates for next year, check out the handbook. The handbook is currently being revised for the new school year, but you can get an idea of the policies and procedures by looking at last year's handbook. Feel free to leave a message in the guestbook.

Parents and new members alike, keep checking the site as the beginning of school approaches. There will be several articles written specifically for new members and their families so that you will have all the information you need as you come to school.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and take some time to check out the site.

The A Cappella Group is finally heading back to the studio to begin work on their second album. The sessions will begin with the basses and percussion on Friday, June 23. Basses and percussionist should report to Studio Sea at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. We are planning to record Karmastition, Bless the Broken Road, Mexican Wine, Breathe and Taco Bell Canon.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I hope everyone is looking forward to a great upcoming year in the vocal department. If you go to the calendar section, you can see all of the dates that we currently have for next year. Choir Camp will be making its return, weather permitting. Check the dates, as it is mandatory for all vocal department members. Also, keep checking back here for a MAJOR trip announcement that will be coming soon. Have a great summer and keep singing.

For the fifth year in a row, the Cypress Chorale earned a superior rating at the Florida Vocal Association State MPA. The event was held at Florida Atlantic University this past weekend. The Chorale gave a superb performance highlighted by the accompaniment of our very own string quartet.

The A Cappella Group also received a superior rating in the special category division.

Mark Hakes, Shadoe Valentin, Rocky Castro, and Sabrina Gruber received superior ratings for their solos. Jarrod Bowen and Mark Davis also received a superior and much gushing from the judge for thier duet.

Myra Christman, Cheyanne Watt, Taylor Griffith, Lacey Bourke & Osvaldo Vargas received excellent ratings for their solos.

Congratulations to all the performers for their efforts at the State event.

The 2006 edition of the Best of High School A Cappella is hot off the presses and has arrived in Fort Myers. The CD, which includes our very own The A Cappella Group, is by far the best BOHSA to date. There are 20 tracks with groups from around the country and one from Indonesia. The CDs are $15 and are available from Mr. Stroh. Get yours today!!