Local choirs reach high note in Leavenworth
January 2, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Amid the snow and shoppers, choirs from all three of Snoqualmie Valley’s middle schools performed in Leavenworth Dec. 12, adding to the musical atmosphere of the Bavarian town.
Although the teenage singers performed in a gazebo in downtown Leavenworth, their voices were heard throughout the shopping district. Microphones in the gazebo picked up their songs and broadcast them live to local venues.
Chief Kanim Middle School choir students sing “This Little Light of Mine” as they hold candles during a winter performance.
“It was neat to sing in the snow with the lights,” said Chief Kanim Music Director Haley Franzwa. “It was kind of magical.”
Her seventh-grade student Sabrina Saechao agreed.
“It was really cold and snowy,” Saechao said. “It was really pretty.”
This is the first year Chief Kanim has had choir as a class. Last year, the choir met two days a week before school.
Each school was allotted a half-hour performance time. Before singing together at the end for “This Little Light of Mine,” Chief Kanim’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade choirs each sang different songs, including holiday medleys like Adeste Fideles, a Latin version of Approach Ye Faithful.
Sixth-grader Kayla Steilen, who sang a solo, said her class had practiced its repertoire since the beginning of the year. Like the other students, Steilen got a thrill from performing in Leavenworth.
“It was a little frightening, but fun at the same time,” Steilen said.
Instead of singing separately, Dean Snavely’s Snoqualmie Middle School choirs all sang together. This is the 10th year the Snoqualmie Middle School choir has traveled to Leavenworth, and this year their program had more of an international slant.
“I dug into the bottom of my library and found some quirky stuff no one else would do,” Snavely said.
The choir sang a Christmas lullaby from China, English Christmas carols from across the Atlantic and a Hebrew song called “Bitty Bom.”
Twin Fall’s eighth-grade choir also sang as its director Matt Wenman conducted. In addition to performing, students had an hour to spare before the show, prompting many to explore Leavenworth and eat lunch. Chief Kanim eighth-grader Andrea Suttle said she enjoyed hopping around town for snacks.
“We had ice cream in the snow,” Suttle said. “I got birthday cake remix.”
The three music directors hope to keep Leavenworth an annual tradition, not only to give the students experience performing at different venues, but also to help the choirs bond as a group and learn what else they have in common besides their love of music.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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