Movies brought to the stage; Austinaires annual concert held this weekend
Published 11:25 am Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Austinaires rehearse a song from “Into the Woods” Tuesday evening for the annual Austinaires spring concert, which will take place this weekend. This year’s theme is “It’s Movie Night” and the students will sing songs from different movies. — Photos by Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com
Austin High School students are warming up their voices for a big show this week.
Austinaires and Choralaires ensembles will perform in the annual spring concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday in Christgau Hall at Austin High School. The theme this year is “It’s Movie Night!” and the songs are from films such as “Ghostbusters,” “Footloose,” “Sister Act,” Disney shows, “Into the Woods,” and more.
Choir Director Brian Johnson said the students are excited for the show and hopes for a good audience turnout.
“We really focus on having fun with a lot of different music from contemporary all the way back to the ‘50s,” Johnson said.
Austin students Owen Nelson (left) and Seth Clasen rehearse their song Tuesday evening.
Johnson said the show has been going since before he started working in Austin 28 years ago. Audience members continue to come back year after year, and although some of those members are parents, Johnson suspects the variety of music and good talent keeps them coming back.
“What’s exciting is all the different aspects that you get to see along with the fine singing that the kids do,” he said.
The students are excited for the different acts they will perform, and Johnson said the concert is very upbeat. During the song from “Ghostbusters,” there will even be “ghosts” on the stage.
“We have some pretty fun choreography with that,” Johnson said. “We even have some ghosts on stage.”
There are about 56 singers performing in the concert, with spotlight performances by graduating seniors. Seniors get the chance to choose their own music for their solos.
“It gives a chance for them to be creative and express themselves in a way that they might not get to do otherwise,” he said.
Johnson is excited about the theme this year, having songs from familiar shows and movies. He said there will even be popcorn and pop for the audience.
“Because we’re doing a movie night theme, we’ll hopefully have a little bit of a movie theater [space],” he said.
“What’s been fun about this one … is having a focus on music that people recognize,” he added. “Because they’ve seen those movies and heard those soundtracks.”
Johnson hopes the students learn even though putting on a show is hard work, the fun and experience is worth it in the end.
The Austin Choralaires rehearse a song from “The Sister Act” Tuesday evening for the annual Austinaires spring concert which will take place this weekend. This year’s theme is “It’s Movie Night” and the students will sing songs from different movies.
“It’s a lot of singing and a lot of moving, and it takes a lot of repetition to get things down,” he said. “They really find out how much hard work is put into it.”
Each night will spotlight individual performances by graduating seniors, and each night features a different group of seniors so attending more than one concert is encouraged.
“It’s a lot of different movies that we’re highlighting,” Johnson said. “It packs a pretty big [concert] each night.”
Tickets are available at Hy-Vee and the AHS cashier for $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Tickets at the door are $1 more. Since the event is a fundraiser for the AHS Choral Department, passes are not accepted.
