Students from Pleasant Valley, Bettendorf, North Scott, and the Davenport Community School District high schools gathered at Bettendorf High School last week to perform at Metrofest: the largest choir concert held in the Quad City area.
In preparation for Metrofest, students are sectioned off into three ensembles: the OPUS, Treble, and All-State choirs. The selection is based off which choir the students are originally placed in at their own school. For example, students from Pleasant Valley that are in Concert Choir sing in the OPUS choir, the students in Women’s Ensemble sing in the Treble Choir, and the students in Chamber Choir sing in the All-State Choir.
The first thing that happens after all the participating students have arrived on campus is the students are arranged into their new choirs for the day. This happens in the school gym, so while all the students are still together, they can practice the two patriotic pieces they all traditionally sing together: “America the Beautiful” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
From here, the choirs proceed to have individual rehearsals. During these intense 3-hour long rehearsals, a guest conductor directs the students as they collectively work on the music they have been preparing at their respective schools for the past several weeks. This year, Gerard Krupke, a Pleasant Valley alum, conducted the OPUS Choir, Dr. Sarah Van Waardhuizen conducted the Treble Choir, and Dr. Cory D. Wikan conducted the All-State Choir.
All three choirs performed music from a vast variety of genres. The OPUS choir enticed the crowd with their performance of “Cantate Domino,” “Ye Followers of the Lamb,” “In the Silence,” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” The Treble Choir performed their interpretations of “O Pastorelle,” “Reel à bouche,” “In You I Found,” and “The Storm is Passing Over.” Finally, the All-State Choir finished the individual choir portion of the concert with “Musicks Empire,” “Light Dawns on a Weary World,” “El Hambo,” “All Works of Love,” and “All of Us.”
Conducting students from different schools presents the students and the conductors with challenges, as students are sometimes taught different musical interpretations. Nonetheless, they work together and adapt in order to create one beautiful performance at the concert, which is really what Metrofest is about. Rarely do students in the Quad Cities get the opportunity to work together in a capacity like this, so it is an opportunity that many high school choir members throughout the Quad Cities are grateful to have.
Katie Henricksen, a senior at Pleasant Valley and a committed choir member since grade 6, has attended Metrofest for the past four years. She has enjoyed the opportunity to attend Metrofest for multiple reasons, some being getting to interact with other students across the Quad Cities that share her passion for music and getting to spend time with the people in her school choir.
Henricksen shares her favorite part of Metrofest. “I love the concert at the very end of the day. Not only do I love finally singing the songs my choir has been learning, but I also love seeing what the other choirs put together.” The audience was in awe of all the talent that the young students in the Quad Cities have, which was evident from their roaring applause at the end of the concert.
The concert on the night of Metrofest would not have been possible without the commitment and hard work of the singers, guest conductors, and school directors. David Baxter, Meg Byrne, Catherine Lyon, and Tom Booth play a pivotal role in the preparedness of the Pleasant Valley High School students that attend Metrofest. Byrne said the choir directors work hard to make Metrofest a success because it can be memorable experience for all those involved.
“It is an important community event, especially from a cooperative standpoint because we are working together with students from other schools to make something happen. I think so much of what we do with other schools it is competitive, but this is something where we can really work together to create something for ourselves and our community,” said Byrne. Choir directors and students alike are looking forward to next year’s Metrofest for this reason and more.
