I was very fortunate on Saturday to be involved with the very first Los Robles Master Chorale High School Festival at Oaks Christian in Thousand Oaks. What an experience! Let me start out by saying, I am not a musical person. I can’t play anything but a little piano, and I can sing a little, but I can’t sight read music, nor do I know musical pieces and composers except at the very rudimentary level.
Thanks to our fabulous music department at Agoura High School, the Agoura Women’s Choir was able to attend this event. Mr. Chad Bloom, the Choir Director asked me if I would chaperone the girls. So, on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., the entire women’s choir of about seventeen (I think one girl couldn’t make it), showed up at the stunning Oaks Christian High School campus to be part of this first festival.
We were shown to a classroom, and assigned a volunteer who was with us for the day. The first events were two clinics in the morning. The first clinic was led by the indefatigable Lesley Leighton, who is the director of the Los Robles Master Chorale. Ms. Leighton gave the girls some notes, and observations about their singing of the two pieces they had prepared. The girls were understandably nervous and impressed, but were finally able to relax a little and enjoy the suggestions that were being made. The choir was then brought into the choir room at Oaks Christian and they met with Mr. Brandon Brack who gave them more and different suggestions on the same two pieces. His was a bit more relaxed as he encouraged the girls to move a bit more while they sang. He then asked them to sing “Elijiah Rock” which is one of their favorites as evidenced by the joy with which they sang it.
Then, it was off to a workshop on “Sight Singing” led by Mrs. Dana Rouse who is a member of the Los Robles Master Chorale. She led an entertaining, interactive and informative workshop on how to sight read music with gusto! I think some of it was above the girls heads, but they jumped in and gave it all they had.
A quick lunch break and on to more singing where the choirs all sang to each other, topped off with a masterful performance by the Los Robles Master Chorale, again led by Ms. Lesley Leighton.
The end of the day was the most exciting part. Ms. Leighton put all the singers in chairs in order i.e. Soprano, Soprano II, Alto etc., and direcgted them in two pieces of music, that by the end had everyone rockin’ in their chairs! Quite a joyous end to an educational and enlightening day.
My understanding is that the goal is to have this festival now on a yearly basis and to get more and more high schools to join in. It was a wonderful event that will surely get more successful as the word of mouth gets around. I have a feeling someday soon you will have to apply to be invited. So, kudos to Mr. Bloom of Agoura High for setting this up for our Women’s Choir. It was a honor to be a part of it.
