On Nov. 22, the County Band and Chorus Festivals were held at FHS with middle school and high school level participants.
This was the first time in at least the last 30 years that these two events have been held in the same school at the same time. Containing both public and private schools, 16 schools from around the Beaver County area have participated in this festival, with an estimated 315 students or more performing in attendance. The participating schools were Aliquippa, South Side Beaver, Beaver Falls, Western Beaver, Ambridge, Riverside, Rochester, Lincoln, Blackhawk, New Brighton, Beaver, Central Valley, Quigley, New Castle, Beaver County Christian, Hopewell and Freedom. There were also guest band and choir conductors Ross Marshall, Sean Sisler, Andrea Capehart, Susan Metelsky, Don Hixon, Jen Newman, David Withrow, David Zaccari, Jamie Beilstein, Wendy Lewis, Kit Keiper and Keith Kovalic.
“We’ll have approximately 100 [students] from the middle school All-Star band, 100 from the high school All-Star band and approximately 115 from [the] high school choir,” FHS Band Director Kovalic said.
Kovalic was the one who inspired the coming together of the County Band and County Chorus festivals. He saw it as convenient with time and scheduling to hold the two events together. Also, hosting the two together gives schools and audience members more to look forward to.
“I always wanted to do it. I wanted to try and put something together that really everyone participates in and directors, parents and kids will be wowed,” Kovalic said.
Kovalic had the intent to make the event unique and memorable. He wanted to use the event to draw attention to and gain popularity for County Band and Chorus. Also, he wanted to showcase both the talent of FHS and the rest of Beaver County.
With the two events coming together, more rehearsal time was needed. There were two evening rehearsals on Nov. 7 and Nov. 21, along with an all-day rehearsal on Nov. 22, the day of the performance. This was a slightly different schedule than what has been followed in the past for the separate events.
“Normally, we go for one evening practice, and then the next day, go around 8 or 9 in the morning and practice all day until the concert at 7 in the evening,” senior Nicole Kammer, a fifth-year participant in County Band, said.
With the high school auditorium holding approximately 700 occupants and over 300 participants with friends and family expected to attend, the festival was estimated to sell out. There was a free live stream held down at the middle school for people who could not get into the high school to watch it.
There are pros and cons on both sides for the two festivals becoming one.
“I am honestly not looking forward to having the band and chorus combined because this school is simply not large enough. I feel bad for the audience that will have to watch the live stream at the middle school,” Kammer said.
“I am so excited for this event, mainly because of the involvement I will have with people from many other schools. I am ecstatic to sing with more boys than our chorus even has. My sister is in the band program, so I am ecstatic about this, too,” junior Rebekah Shumsky, a first-year participant in County Chorus, said.
A spring quartet group and a chamber choir from Beaver and the Steel Drums from Ambridge came to the festival to play and perform outside of the high school and in the lobby before the band and chorus started their holiday concert. The lobby was decorated to match the concert’s Christmas holiday theme.
“The lobby is going to be decorated to the hilt. We have a seven-foot sleigh coming in, the parents are doing unbelievable decorating. It really is going to be Freedom at its best,” Kovalic said prior to the festival.
With the event making traveling convenient, unifying the band and choir and doing something that dares to be different, Kovalic has hopes that the future hosts will continue holding it together and making it a tradition.