By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Vocal singers in a variety of groups are gearing up for this year’s winter concert at Riverview High School, where it’s evident just how much music means to students who for two years lived through unprecedented times, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
That point came through in interviews with singers set to perform Thursday night, Dec. 15, at Riverview High’s “Home for the Holidays” concert. According to Liz Stewart, director of choral activities, the show is set to highlight 25 years of Riverview High holiday music.
Riverview High School Harmonix
Riverview High opened for the first time in 1998, in time for the start of the 1998-99 school year.
“I truly cannot believe what life would be like without the arts and without connecting to people through music,” said senior Annabelle Adams, who added that she joined Riverview High’s Vision Show Choir because it blended her two main interests, song and dance. “The arts are of the utmost importance for education.”
Senior McKenna Slater agreed, noting as well the importance of the arts in helping students get through their pandemic isolation with meaningful virtual encounters.
“During the pandemic, music was the good part of our lives, and we all got to share that,” said Slater, a member of Silver Lining, Riverview’s newly formed vocal jazz group, named in part for the school’s impending 25-year silver anniversary. “Music was our silver lining through the pandemic, the good thing in our lives, so we named our jazz group partly for that as well.”
On stage with Riverview High School Sugar ‘n Spice.
For 36 years Stewart has been a music teacher (half as a Riverview High instructor and half with her own studio), and through it all has witnessed students navigate emerging technologies and challenges.
Noting the growing influence of omnipresent cell phones and on-line platforms, “it’s harder to get kids to focus today,” Stewart said. “You have to get the kids invested in what they’re doing, so that they’re intrinsically motivated and focused. It’s really about getting them to buy into what you want to do with them, and that it takes full focus for them to achieve what you want them to do.”
At the school Thursday night, Stewart plans to showcase the achievements of her classical and show choirs as well as other groups under her tutelage, including the Sugar ‘n Spice girl’s barbershop quartet; the Victorian Carolers; and Harmonix, a contemporary and a-cappella group that performs without instrumentation.
“The sound of barbershop is nothing like anything I’ve heard before,” said Sugar ‘n Spice performer Nicole Brower, a senior. “Each part complements the other and fits together so perfectly. It’s so cool to see the harmony come together.”
“I’ve always liked the process of creating different instrument sounds through voice,” said senior Juliana Shyrock, a Harmonix member. “That’s very intriguing to me. I’ve always been interested in student conducting, and Harmonix gives me a lot of opportunities to conduct.”
Opportunities to perform for all groups extend beyond the schoolhouse doors, which is pretty much a given for Stewart, who for years has scheduled a myriad of community-based performances. The holidays are a particularly busy time, and this year is no exception.
Riverview High School Vocal Groups Photos
On stage with Riverview High School Victorian Carolers
To wit, the Victorian Carolers started “because about six years ago a group in Ybor City wanted a Victorian lighting of the Christmas tree, and they had no budget for costumes,” Stewart said. “One of the local costume stores donated the costumes, and we provided the singers. Our students perform as a community service and often people will give us a donation to support our music program, so it’s a win-win for everybody.”
For the Victorian Carolers a sampling of performances this year includes Christmas Lane at the Florida Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City and the Victorian Christmas Stroll at the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa. The Sugar ‘n Spice schedule includes a performance at the Rice Creek RV Resort golf cart parade in Riverview. For the Vision show choir, Harmonix and Riverview’s advanced chamber group, performances include the Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Musical shows were scheduled as well for Kings Point in Sun City Center.
This year’s schedule is over the top, and Stewart is well aware.
“It’s almost like they’re trying to make up for what they weren’t able to do their sophomore and junior years during the pandemic,” Stewart said. “They don’t take performance opportunities for granted because they were taken away from them for two years during their high school years.”
Brower said she is thankful for Stewart’s efforts.
“She gives us so many amazing opportunities to perform, and I’m thankful for that,” Brower said. “She’s very inclusive and she tries to give everyone a chance to perform and I love that about her.”
Also set to perform Thursday night at Riverview High’s “Home for the Holiday’s” concert is the Rodgers Middle School chorus under teacher Austin Mahieu. As is the tradition, Riverview choral alumni are invited to come back to perform. Choreography by Riverview High alumnus Brandon Rodriguez, who has a degree in performing arts from the University of Tampa, will be on display as well.
The concert kicks off 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at Riverview High School, at 11311 Boyette Road.