Bourne School Committee Gets Choral Performance Ahead Of District Auditions
The Bourne School Committee was treated to a performance from members of the Bourne High School Chorus at its regular meeting on Tuesday, November 1.
A group of choral students was led into the library of Bourne High School by School Resource Officer Connor McAnaugh. He was filling in for band director and fine arts instructor Lisa Fournier-Donely, who could not be there in person.
The students, instructed by Officer McAnaugh, led the room in “the Pledge of Allegiance,” followed by a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Ms. Fournier has worked really hard with these student musicians,” said Officer McAnaugh, who had a music education degree from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
During a phone call with the Enterprise, Ms. Fournier explained that in just two weeks’ time, the choral and band students will all be competing for seats at two music festivals: Southeast District, which is the preliminary level of the competition that students go through before advancing to the state level, and the All Cape & Islands High School Festival, which is for just Cape and Island districts.
“Both [festivals] are competitive in the sense that they’re competing for spots in ensembles,” Ms. Fournier said, “either a choir, a concert band, or an orchestra, against all other high school students.”
For the Student Spotlight section of the school committee meeting, students performed a rendition of “My Heart Is Offered Still To You,” a Shakespearean madrigal. It is the same piece students will audition with at both festivals.
The choral performance was followed by student Moose Hoagland’s clarinet performance of Willson Osborne’s Rhapsody for Clarinet solo in B-flat. Ms. Fournier said that Moose has been practicing the solo since June. Having received an All-State recommendation the past two years, Ms. Fournier said that Moose is focused on perfecting their solo while also gearing up for a potential All-States audition.
“That was really heartwarming,” said Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou after the performances. “They have to put in a lot of practice.”
Students typically work with Ms. Fournier on their musical pieces during BHS’s WIN (What I Need) block, which is dedicated to allowing individual students to focus on subjects or activities they want or need extra time with. Ms. Fournier has high hopes for her students’ performances at the auditions.
“They are all really great kids,” she said.
Ms. Fournier said that All Cape & Islands auditions are on Wednesday, November 16. Auditions for the Southeast District seats will take place at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham on Saturday, November 19.