Freedom song helps forge ties for Dixon school choirs

DIXON — A song about solidarity and freedom will be the glue that will bring more than a hundred voices together.

Choirs from three Dixon Public Schools buildings will be showcased in a concert at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Dixon High School’s James A. Wiltz Auditorium.

Erin Rogers, director of choir at the high school, said this is the district’s second Choir Fest, which features singing groups at Madison Elementary, Reagan Middle and Dixon High School.

One of the most beautiful things about having singers from ages 10 and 11 through 18 making music together is that they bring such a different tone and vocal technique.”

—  Erin Rogers, Dixon High School director of choir

Restarting the choir at Madison during the previous school year made a district-wide event possible, Rogers said.

“All us directors were so impressed at how fast the fifth grade and middle school students learned the new music,” she said.

Moreover, because the day is devoted to more than just rehearsals – students will play games, socialize and share a pre-concert meal – the event fosters collaboration and grows greater cohesion for the music program.

“Retention within the choir has really been high from last year to this year, and we believe the fest helped play a role in showing students that staying with choir is the right choice,” Rogers said.

The festival bolsters the confidence of young singers, too, especially as they learn to sing in four- or five-part harmonies because they will be standing beside more experienced performers during rehearsals.

“One of the most beautiful things about having singers from ages 10 and 11 through 18 making music together is that they bring such a different tone and vocal technique,” Rogers said.

[ Dixon High School music program is a safe space for expression. ]

[ Dixon High School combines choirs. ]

In the finale, an estimated 140 students will be on stage for the closing number, which will be the emotionally laden South African freedom song “Tshotsholoza.” It’s a call-and-response song originally sung by miners. But it became an unofficial anthem of the country during apartheid, the period of institutional racial segregation from the 1940s to the 1990s. It is now a serenade sung by fans during soccer and rugby matches.

The fifth-grade program under Sarah Purlee will perform “Wind On The Hill” and “Firefly.”

The middle-school chorus under Ashley Almquist will sing “Listen to the Rain.”

The high school’s concert choir will perform the Latin canon piece Dona Nobis Pacem while the honors choir will sing “Wanting Memories.” The high school choirs will combine for “Wade in the Water” by Moses Hogan.

Sara Dunne will be the accompanist.

How will they put it all together?

The high school choir members are familiar with the closing piece “Tshotsholoza,” Rogers said. On the day of the festival, the elementary and middle school students will be divided into groups according to their vocal range. These separate groups will be instructed by high schoolers who sing the matching parts. Later, the choirs will combine and run through the piece a few times before the concert.