Choir

Spotlight on the McGehee Choirs

The Louise S. McGehee School has a long-standing tradition of excellence in vocal music. Our five choirs attest to this honor.

Choristers
All third and fourth grade students participate in choristers as a part of their curriculum to reinforce unison singing, part-singing, music reading, and working together as a group. In this large ensemble students are responsible for their own contributions that benefit the group. They are challenged with canons and part-singing. As part of their study they sing at the Holiday and Spring Concerts with the middle and upper school choirs. They also travel off-campus during the holiday season to perform at various venues.

Young Singers
Young Singers is a non-audition middle school choir available to fifth through eighth grade students. Members work together to develop their music literacy and part-singing skills. Young Singers works with a wide variety of literature including multicultural music, American folk music as well as many works by the great composers such as Mozart and Bach. In rehearsal, we build the foundations of vocal technique and breath support. Young Singers performs at both the McGehee Winter and Spring concerts, participates in LMEA Large Ensemble Festival and also performs at school and at local venues throughout the school year.

Les Petites Chanteuses
Members of Young Singers are eligible to audition for Les Petites Chanteuses, McGehee's select Middle School Choir. This smaller chamber ensemble meets once during the rotation and Thursdays after school and provides an outlet for those students who wish to study singing and choral literature more deeply during their middle school years. Les Petites Chanteuses frequently performs locally. Most recently, the choir was featured at the Louisiana State American Choral Directors Association's Fall Conference in Baton Rouge, LA. The choir members work closely with each other to develop the beautiful tone available to young women in their middle school years, while adding on to their music literacy skills and vocal technique.

Concert Choir
Music is an elective course in Upper School that meets 4 times in each 7-day rotation. Most of the girls who take music also elect to participate in Concert Choir, which rehearses each Monday after school. This non-auditioned choir sings a variety of repertoire, and stays busy with performances throughout the year. During the holiday season, the choir sings at many local events, culminating in the traditional Singing on the Staircase and the Holiday Pageant.

In the spring, they participate in the District and State Large Ensemble Festivals. Many individual Concert Choir students also choose to audition for District and State Honor Choirs, and to participate in the District VI Solo and Small Ensemble Festival Competition.

Ensemble
Upper School students who sing in Concert Choir are eligible to audition for Ensemble, a small, select group that sings a wide variety of musical styles. Focusing on challenging music and off-campus performances, Ensemble provides more musical experience for the highly motivated singer. This group also participates in District and State Large Ensemble Festivals each spring. Ensemble rehearsals begin with dinner each Wednesday, followed by an hour of singing.

A Cappella
The newest Choir at McGehee, A Cappella, is a select ensemble of 12 to 16 Upper School students. A Cappella meets during activity period and sings contemporary music chosen by its members. Within the group, singers develop independence and musicianship through the study and performance of challenging musical arrangements.