Fairfield High School concert will be Tuesday

Fairfield High School will present a concert featuring the students in the grades 10-12 band and choir programs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Fairfield High School Auditorium.

The concert band will begin the program with three selections. The first piece is entitled ?River Of Life.? The second piece is for solo clarinet and concert band. The piece will feature senior clarinetist and All-State Band member Melanie Roth on ?Interlude.? The last piece, conducted by Iowa Wesleyan student teacher Zach Reiter, is a transcription of Shostakovich?s ?Symphony No. 5.?

The FHS Jazz Band will play three selections. The first selection is a rock chart titled ?Birdland,? featuring solos by Matt McCan on trumpet and Allissa Buelow on alto sax. The second piece is a big band arrangement of the ballad ?Misty.? The last piece is a swing chart entitled ?Zoot Suit Riot,? featuring solos of Christian Graber on drums and Hannah Graber on tenor sax.

The FHS Chamber Singers will sing the two pieces, which earned them a perfect score at the solo and ensemble contest in March. ?She Walks in Beauty? by Eric William Barnum is a contemporary a cappella setting of the poem by Lord Byron. ?Nothin? Gonna Stumble My Feet? is a new spiritual written by Greg Gilpin. Senior Rachel Keller will be performing her piano solo, ?Golliwog?s Cakewalk? by Claude Debussy at the Outstanding Performer Showcase in Ames earlier in the day, and she will repeat the performance on the evening concert.

The FHS Concert Choir will be performing its contest set from State Large Group Contest. The first piece, ?Cantate Domino,? is an a cappella piece from the early Baroque period by Hans Hassler. It is in Latin and is representative of the period. ?Things That Never Die? was written in 1993 by Lee Dengler. Its lyrics are by Charles Dickens, which tell of those timeless human qualities like compassion and love that never dies. ?The Lord Bless You and Keep You? by John Rutter is a choral benediction with words from the book of Numbers in the Bible.

The FHS Concert Choir will conclude its portion of the concert with a medley from the Broadway musical ?Ragtime.? The music features the syncopated rhythms of ragtime as the words tell the story of the clash between races and ethnic groups that occurred around New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Featured soloists will be Amy Summerlin, Katie Fitzsimmons, Derek Fishel, Ashley Kukuzke and Dani Hannes. A group at the end will consist of Liz Hamilton, Nykole Thacker, Allissa Buelow, Rachel Swanson and Rachel Schwarz. The concert choir is under the direction of Connie Keller, and is accompanied by Betty Mayer.

The final ensemble on this evening?s concert will be the 48-voice FHS Select Choir under the direction of Linda Mitcheltree. The group will open with ?Famine Song,? arranged by Michael Culloton. The piece, made popular by the vocal quartet VIDA, expresses the pain and hope experienced in Sudan during the famines of the 1980?s. Featured soloists will be Alison Mayer, Amanda Lamb, Bethany Larson and Alex Greiner. ?With the Voice of Praise? is a traditional introduction and chorus by George Frideric Handel. Greiner will be the opening soloist, and Connie Keller will accompany on piano.

The last three pieces will be the choir?s contest set. ?Lamentations of Jeremiah? by Z. Randall Stroope is a powerful setting which seeks to capture both the grief and belief of the prophet?s circumstances. Greiner will accompany on piano. ?I Will Be Earth? is a flowing setting by Gwyneth Walker of a poem by American poet May Swenson. Rachel Keller will accompany on the piano. Finally, the ?Afro-Celtic Diddle? by Michael Coolen utilizes Irish traditional rhythms juxtaposed with African counter-rhythms.

Senior students and their parents will be recognized during the concert.