AACS Upper School Choirs

Day One
Thursday, April 10, 2014

After a great night's sleep, we met "Mr. E," our bus driver, for a short ride over to The University of Southern California (USC) for a Masterclass with Dr. Jo-Michael Schiebe, Director of Choral Activities and former president of the American Choral Directors' Association. After hearing our combined choirs sing their first piece, "Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal," Dr. Schiebe remarked, "I think this is the best choir we've heard (of the 20-30 high school choirs workshopped this spring), and some of those choirs came from schools of 3,000 [students]." He then spent the next 90 minutes sharing his expertise on such technical issues as "grounding," diction, tuning, color choice, and breath control. He even had some fun with Mrs. Joseph, helping her to use the "Alexander Method" in her conducting!

Next it was on to Hollywood where Jodi Hoffman and members of the cast of Singin' in the Rain re-enacted the opening scene of the musical, which takes place in front of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We strolled down the famous "Walk of Fame" and then boarded four canope-topped tour vans for a fast-paced tour of Beverly Hills, Redeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard, and Mulholland Drive.

For dinner we stopped the Kempton's favorite burger place, In and Out Burgers, where we consumed the famous "Double-Double" Burgers, hand-cut fries, and shakes. (Some of us even tried our burgers "protein style," and "animal style.")

The day ended with devotions--the ladies with Mrs. Joseph and the men with Mr. Vineyard and Mr. Cherone. One of the main themes was how only God can satisfy the longings of the human heart, not fame, or power, or wealth. Then it was off to bed in preparation for Day Two, which includes concerts at Linefield Christian School, Friends Christian School, and Rose Drive Friends Church.