SVS May '23 Recital

Clemens High School

2023-2024 Voice Lessons Weekly lessons $22 for 30 minute lesson Interested in taking lessons next year? Please email simonevoicestudio@gmail.com @simonevoicestudio

Clemens High School

Simone - Simone Voice Studio

PRESENT

BROADWAY BOUND

TREVOR THOMAS MAC STERR CHRISTIANNA REED

KHYRI REAUX KOSLAN ALLEN SERENITY SHADOWENS

SAVANNAH FIGUEROA MILES CROCKETT OLIVIA GARCIA

ELENA MORALES ANGEL TAYLOR IZZY HORMEL.

ALAYA MCKNIGHT MORGAN AHRENS RYDER LAND

RAHJA STEELE MAKYA WEBBER-MCNAIR

JULIETTE DAVILA SAVANNAH OTERO CONNER VALDEZ

MAC BROOKS ATIANNA WIGGINS LANCE COULTAS

HOST

JESSALYN SPECHT

STAGING DIRECTOR

BRITTNEE SIMONE

SOUND TECHNICIAN

JESSALYN SPECHT

LIGHTING TECHNICIAN

JESSALYN SPECHT

MUSIC DIRECTOR

BRITTNEE SIMONE

STAGE HAND/TECHNICIAN GREG GARCIA

Music was either purchased or recorded by Kevin Baxter or Greg Garcia

Brittnee

Solos and Scenes

“I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story

Angel as Maria

“Somebody, Somewhere” from The Most Happy Fella

Savannah as Rosabella

“Where Is Love?” From Oliver

Ryder as Oliver

“Who Will Buy?” From Oliver

Savannah as Rose Seller

Olivia as Milkmaid

Elena as Strawberry Seller

Rahja as Knife Grinder

“This Nearly Was Mine” from South Pacific

Conner as Emile

“Goodnight, My Someone” from The Music Man

Serenity as Marian

Non-Singer: Ryder as Child

“Who Am I?” From Peter Pan

Khyri as Wendy

“Mister Snow” from Carousel

Makya as Carrie Pipperidge

Rahja as Julie Jordan

Solos and Scenes

INTERMISSION (10 min.)

“When The Children Are Asleep” from Carousel

Olivia as Carrie Pipperidge

Morgan as Enoch Snow

“A New Life” from Jekyll and Hyde

Christianna as Lucy

Non-singer: Miles as Hyde

“In My Own Little Corner” from Cinderella

Izzy as Cinderella

“When You’re Driving Through The Moonlight” & “A Lovely Night” from Cinderella

Atiana as Cinderella

Juliette as Portia

Savannah as Joy

Mac as Stepmother

“Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods

Alaya as The Witch

Non-singers: Miles as Dad with baby

Elena as Child Atiana as Mother

Koslan as Brother Savannah as Sister

“Agony” from Into the Woods

Lance as Cinderella’s Prince

Koslan as Rapunzel’s Prince

WHO’S WHO

Trevor Thomas

Steele HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Mac Sterr

Steele HS Junior

Christianna Reed

Steele HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Pursuing Music at Stephen F. Austin State

University Steele HS Freshman

Khyri Reaux

WHO’S WHO

Koslan Allen

Steele HS Junior

Superior Rating on Class 3 Solo

Serenity Shadowens

Steele HS Senior

Superior Rating on Class 2 Solo

Savannah Figueroa

Clemens HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Miles Crockett

Clemens HS Senior

WHO’S WHO

Olivia Garcia

Clemens HS Senior

Region Choir Member

All-State Treble Choir 2nd Chair

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Pursuing Music at Texas State University

Elena

Clemens HS Junior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Pre-Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Clemens HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Clemens HS Freshman

Superior Rating on Class 3 Solo

Morales Angel Taylor Izzy Hormel

WHO’S WHO Alaya Mcknight

Clemens HS Junior

Region Honor Choir Member

Morgan Ahrens

Clemens HS Junior

Region Choir Member

All-State Mixed Choir 1st Chair

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Ryder Land

Clemens HS Freshman

Rahja Steele

Clemens HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Area

WHO’S WHO

Makya Webber-Mcnair

Clemens HS Senior

Superior Rating on Class 2 Solo

Juliette Davila

Veterans Memorial HS Junior

Region Choir Member

Savannah

Otero

Veterans Memorial HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Conner Valdez

Veterans Memorial HS Senior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Pre-Area

WHO’S WHO Mac Brooks

Veterans Memorial HS Junior

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Atiana Wiggins

Veterans Memorial HS Junior

Region Choir Member

Advanced to Pre-Area

Superior Rating on Class 1 Solo

Advanced to State Solo & Ensemble

Lance Coultas

Veterans Memorial HS Junior

Superior Rating on Class 2 Solo

Region Honor Choir Member

PROGRAM NOTES

West Side Story is a musical that takes place on the harsh streets of the upper west side of New York, where two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang member falls in love with a rival’s sister. In this scene, Maria (Angel) is blissfully unaware that a rumble has just taken place with fatal consequences. Maria giddly sings “I Feel Pretty” to her friends, in this case the audience, that she is in love.

The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical about a romance between an Italian man who lives in Napa and a woman who lives in San Francisco. Before this scene, a friend finds a note addressed to “Rosabella”, written in odd broken english. Rosabella (Savannah) decides to answer the letter, thinking of all the possibilities of a man actually loving her.

Like A Christmas Carol, Oliver is a musical based on a novel by Charles Dickens. It was the first adaptation of the famous Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist! The musical opens in the workhouse, as the half-starved orphan boys are entering an enormous dining room for dinner. Come to find out they are fed only gruel, which is a watered down version of porridge. Oliver gathers up the courage to ask for more and the greedy caretakers send him to sleep in the basement with coffins, where Oliver (Ryder) sings “Where Is Love?”.

Musicals commonly get adapted into movies. The film version of Oliver was released in 1968. One of the most famous and memorable scenes is the musical number, "Who will buy?", depicting London street traders selling their wares as the city begins to wake up. In this scene you will see a rose seller ("who will buy my sweet red roses? two blooms for a penny."), a milkmaid ("will you buy any milk today mistress?"), a strawberry seller ("ripe strawberries, ripe!") and a knife grinder ("knives, knives to grind. Any knives to grind.")

“This Nearly Was Mine” is a song with no hint of bitterness, but of resignation, as the singer sadly admits to himself that he did value the paradise before him until it had passed beyond his reach. All of this — the deep sorrow, the regret, and the complexity of situation — Oscar Hammerstein (in the lyrics) and Richard Rogers (in the hauntingly beautiful melody he wrote for those lyrics) created for the the sad resolution of a story which they brought to life in the form of a brilliant and immensely popular Broadway musical, South Pacific.

PROGRAM NOTES

In this scene, Marian sings “Goodnight, My Someone”, a romantic lullaby that reveals the inner hopeless romantic that she so often conceals. In musical theater, one can often describe solo songs as being of two types: an “I want” song or, an “I am” song. “Goodnight, My Someone” falls somewhere within both realms. The text of the lyrics, in the B section, within the context of the scene demonstrates Marian’s desire for a lover in her life; not just any lover, but one whose love models the heroes of the fictional fantasies the she reads about in the library’s novels. Marian has no idea where this ideal man of hers is, but she has a hopeful romantic outlook that he is indeed out there, and they will find each other.

"Lida Rose" is one of the most recognizable barbershop songs of all time. The sterotypical image of barbershoppers in matching attire was certainly reinforced in The Music Man. The barbershop quartet is set to sing. Meanwhile, Marian, is sitting on her front porch thinking of Harold "Will I Ever Tell You?". "Lida Rose" and "Will I Ever Tell You", sung first separately and then simultaneously, are examples of Broadway counterpoint (songs with separate lyrics and separate melodies that harmonize and are designed to be sung together).

"Who am I?" is a lullaby sung by Wendy in the musical Peter Pan by Leonard Bernstein. Being the eldest, Wendy has conflicting feelings between needing to grow up and enjoying her childhood with her younger brothers. In this scene, you'll hear the inner battle she's having about who she seems to be and who she really wants or is suppose to be.

Carousel is the second musical by the team Rodgers and Hammerstein. The main plot of Carousel is Julie gets involved with the handsome carousel barker Billy Bigelow. Right before this scene in the musical, Julie and her best friend Carrie have been thrown out of the amusement park. As they wait for Billy, you'll see a snippet of the secondary plot, Carrie can finally tell her about the special man in her life, Mister (Enoch) Snow, who is an ambitious fisherman.

PROGRAM NOTES

The fantastic subplot between Carrie and Enoch continue in "When the Children Are Asleep". In this scene, Enoch tells Carrie that he expects to become rich selling herring and to have a large family, larger perhaps than Carrie is comfortable having. They talk about their dreams of their life together and ends in a sweet harmony between the two.

In the story, Jekyll has sent Lucy a letter saying leave town and create a new life. She thinks she sees him lurking in the shadows behind her but realizes it's all in her head. She then wonders of the possibilities ahead and what a new life can bring for her. This song is extremely difficult to sing because the heart wrenching emotions Lucy goes through in this scene. "A New Life" is such a beautiful number and the story of the piece is passionate about starting a new life and what challenges she’s going to face.

Another Rodgers and Hammerstein collab, Cinderella was written for the stage and movie theater. In this scene, you'll see Cinderella is often dismissed after doing her chores to her corner by the fireplace. There, she finds comfort and contentment through the power of her imagination. She knows that her dreams aren't real but the corner is the only place of hope in her life right now.

The morning after the ball, Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters reminisce about the Ball and find that Cinderella is very intuitive about what it must have been like going to the Ball "When You're Driving Through the Moonlight" and dancing with the Prince. The stepmother and stepsisters are in disbelief that Cinderella could have any idea of what it could've been like but they end up falling for the love that Cinderella is exuding about time with the Prince at the Ball "A Lovely Night".

PROGRAM NOTES

Into The Woods is a brilliantly conceived exploration of what happens after “happily ever after.” Into The Woods is a magical, imaginative adventure with a moral and political point of view. Employing sophisticated artistry and innovative craft, the show’s creators lead the audience on a journey to the darker side of fairy tales as they explore the pain of growing up, communal responsibility, and the values we pass on to our children. In this production by Ms. Simone, it focuses on the values we pass on to our children and that children listen to more than you know. You will see little stories frozen in time. First a father and his baby, then a mother and her daughter, lastly a brother and sister. The witch is referencing these stories as they are in a stand still. Once the witch is still, the stories move slowly behind her representing the chaos and turmoil that comes from the consequences of our actions.

Rapunzel’s Prince and Cinderella’s Prince exchange tales of woe in the scene “Agony”, each insisting his romantic problem is more serious than his brother’s.

Cinderella's Prince is the character who is the sterotypical "manly man" while Rapunzel's Prince is the "lover boy/cry baby" who wears his heart on his sleeve, both showing their arrogance in a hilariously dramatic fashion.

Special Thanks

ClemensHighSchool

JessalynSpecht-ClemensChoirDirector

DebbieAdkison-ClemensTheatreArtsDirector

Morales-Clemens

StanMoody-VeteransMemorialChoirDirector

SeanWhelan-SteeleChoirDorector

KevinBaxter-Accompanist

LisaLozito-Accompanist

Parents&GuardiansofSVSSingers

Family,Friends,&SupportersofSVSSingers

GregoryGarcia-Ms Simone’sFiancé

Family,Friends,&SupportersofMs.Simone

Notes from SVS Singers

“I enjoyed the pieces Ms. Simone chose and the patience and time she put in to making this a great concert. I also appreciate all of the people I will be performing alongside.”

-Morgan Ahrens

“I really enjoyed about taking lessons this year is all the fantastic people I met along the way.”

-Ryder Land

Director's Note

I am excited to present the Broadway Bound recital . When thinking about the end of the year, I wanted to do something with my students that they would equally find fun and challenging, maybe in a different way than they thought. I have participated as a singer in a scenes recital, but I decided to direct my first scenes recital this year with my SVS singers. This recital is made up of mostly 'Golden Age' scenes. The thing I like about the 'Golden Age' era of musicals, is that the vocal tone is a perfect bridge from classical singing to musical singing. There are of course exceptions, but since I am a classically trained singer and teacher, my students are singing with their normal quality tone we've been working on all year plus a sprinkle of that musical theater brightness. I was intrigued by staging these scenes. I wanted to make sure my students were truly able to dive into their character and perform their scene. Each one of them have been so trusting in me, themselves, and each other to truly feel the emotions their character is portraying and give you a show to remember! I know they will put it all out on the table and perform a show that will be memorable for all. I hope you enjoy!!!