Hiland Varsity Singers spread holiday joy on district tour

Hiland Varsity Singers spread holiday joy on district tour
Dave Mast

The members of the Hiland Varsity Singers, led by instructor Alexander Looney, belt out "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as they end their performance at the East Holmes Central Office Tuesday, Dec. 10.

                        

For the Hiland Varsity Singers, Tuesday, Dec. 10 marked a very hectic, fast-paced and somewhat exhausting day.

Yet despite a schedule that had them motoring all over East Holmes School District to perform throughout the day, it marked a very fulfilling time of sharing Christmas joy through music to many ears.

The District/Community Tour Day began at 7:45 a.m. and finished up at 2:15 p.m., and in between the group traveled to and sang at six different venues. That list of stops included the elementary schools at Winesburg, Berlin and Walnut Creek, a visit to the central office and performances at Walnut Hills Retirement Community and Walnut Creek Cheese.

While it may seem like a lot, the performers were more than happy to share the Christmas spirit with young and old as they toured.

Senior Chloe Beachy said this event is one that the singers look forward to doing each year because it is so involved yet fulfilling. She said it also allowed her to get out of finals for the day, which was an added bonus.

“This tour is actually something I looked forward to when I was in elementary school because I thought it was so neat,” Beachy said. “I always wanted to be a part of Varsity Singers, and the experience has been incredible. This event is one of the last big traditional things we do as seniors, so we relish this opportunity.”

She said seeing the faces on the elementary kids as they sing some of their fun Christmas songs is special and knowing that music teacher alexander Looney was working with the upper grades in the elementary schools makes it even more enjoyable because the kids can make that connection to the program.

Senior Trent Schlabach said as his career winds down, he relishes the chance to sing with his fellow members each performance.

We started practicing these songs probably back in late September or October, and we have put in weeks and weeks of practice,” Schlabach said. “I think the elementary kids really enjoy this and we try to interact with them a lot.”

As for the hectic pace, Schlabach said, “It’s packed full but it is definitely fun. Mr. Looney knows how to organize something like this that allows us to visit a lot of different places around the district.”

The tour around the district also allowed Looney and the Varsity Singers a chance to connect with the younger students, and especially the fifth-and sixth-graders at each of the schools. Looney has implemented a program in which he goes to the elementary schools and works with the fifth and sixth-grade classes, and at each stop they were asked to join the varsity singers to sing a song.

“We have one piece that everyone from fifth-grade through 12th-grade works on for this performance,” Looney said. “We added that song to the end of our program so we could have the fifth and sixth-grade students join us. It’s a great experience for them and hopefully it generates some excitement in the program for the younger kids to want to aspire to.”

In addition, Looney said after each school session the Varsity Singers broke down into small groups and chatted with the older elementary age students.

“It’s a neat way to develop leadership in our high school singers while at the same time it gives our Varsity Singers a chance to encourage younger kids to continue to work hard toward continuing their singing careers,” Looney said. “Hopefully, some day we will see a lot of these younger kids performing at this level.”

The fast pace of the day slowed down enough to share lunch with the residents at Walnut Hills before the group was whisked away to walnut Creek Elementary.

Looney said this group has dedicated itself to perfecting the songs and that taking this opportunity to spread some Christmas cheer is something they all enjoy doing.


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