May 18, 2005
CHS jazzed about concert
Choral program stages annual Rendezvous at the Jazz Club
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
After an intense year, members of the Traverse City Central High School Choral program are ready to kick back a little.
Dedicated as ever, for Rendezvous 8 they are creating their own vibe - and having a blast doing it.
"It's music that we always listen to and we get to perform it and rock out," said Jack Pettyjohn, an 11th grade student. "It's still a concert but just more laid back, at least for the audience, we're still working hard."
"Come spring, everybody is looking forward to it," he added.
This week's annual Rendezvous at the Jazz Club eschews the normal choir setting: gone are the formal attire, serious deportment and standard choral numbers. This year's show ranges from sultry jazz to jumping disco, with students choosing music and costumes that express their own style.
"It's always a surprise as to who will do what," noted Pettyjohn about the variety of music. "There are some people who are quiet in class and then they get up and belt it out."
Then there's the accompaniment: choral director Jeff Cobb directs the show from his grand piano on stage, while a jazz band and percussion section give the sound swing. This year, Rendezvous will feature a nine-person horn section throughout plus a string quartet on six numbers.
"Strings add that extra touch of class and we've got a real big horn section this year," Cobb said. "There's more choreography going on, too. A good friend of ours, Jeremy Evans, who choreographed the musical, came in and taught them some more moves."
"[Rendezvous] is such an education for the kids, to get a chance to do something like this," he noted.
Cobb also spends countless hours arranging the variety of pieces for the Rendezvous musicians.
"I never realized how much work Mr. Cobb puts into arranging all the instruments - we should bow down," said Catelyn Catino, a senior at the school.
Every spring since 1998, Rendezvous has allowed the school's choral students to showcase the music they love. A few months ahead of the show, they group themselves into solos, duets, quartets and other groups, pick their song and perfect it on their own time.
In addition, the school's various choral ensembles will perform pieces, including Men of Note, Bel Cantos, Vocal Majority and the Choral-Aires plus the Concert Choir and the Chorale. Each show will feature a different line up, with more than 60 numbers in all Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Saturday night will be the senior encore night and include all pieces featuring seniors from Thursday and Friday.
"It's modern music and for individual pieces we get to do what we want," said Jill Miller, a senior who will sing 'Orange Colored Sky' by Nat King Cole. "This is the kind of music I really enjoy, it has real music and real instruments. Compared to the music nowadays, with all the computerized beats, this takes real talent to sing."
Cobb noted that the annual Rendezvous events draw an audience from beyond the school and parents of participants.
"I'm always surprised, I'll be somewhere with my kids, like at Tom's, and people will stop me and say, 'Hey, saw you at Rendezvous last year, when is it this year? I'm looking forward to coming,'" Cobb said. "And I don't even know this person, they are not parents."
"It's really built up a following and people who saw it before are the first in line to see it again," he added.
The Rendezvous at the Jazz Club will be held in the Central High School auditorium. The show will run on Thursday, May 19, Friday, May 20, and Saturday, May 21. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and are available from Central High School Choral students or at the high school box office, phone 933-3573.