‘Choral Explosion’ provides musical training for local students
Area choral students had a chance this past Friday to experience what collegiate choral life is like through the Northwest-Shoals Community College Choral Explosion.
According to the college’s choral director Jeff McAlister, NWSCC has been hosting the choral clinic for the past 17 years in an effort to showcase the excellent music program offered at the Phil Campbell campus and to help choral students who want to pursue singing once they go to college.
“Back in 1994, I started thinking that I wanted to have an event for local choral programs to encourage excitement for singing,” McAlister said.
“My goal for the high schools that had existing choral departments was to encourage them and help them continue to grow, and I also wanted students who didn’t have a choral program available to them to have a chance to see what a college music program is all about.”
McAlister said the music program at NWSCC is one of the most established and distinguished programs in the two-year college system, which is evidenced by the fact that the Northwest-Shoals Chorale has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on three separate occasions.
“For years, people associated Northwest-Shoals with ‘The Legend of Toyland’ and what an excellent event it is for the community, but they didn’t really know what an excellent choral program we had,” McAlister said. “The Choral Explosion was a way to let these kids see what we have, the kind of program we are, and interact with the college students who were already a part of the program.”
McAlister said like any other business or organization, it is important to market the choral department at NWSCC to attract more people who might be interested in being a part of it.
“You have to do extra things to help build and maintain a choral program, and we don’t want to miss the chance to showcase our program and let them see the many opportunities that are available to them through the music department here,” McAlister said.
After the first Choral Explosion in 1994 was such a success, McAlister said the college has presented the event ever since.
“It’s really a win-win situation because the high school kids come and hear about our program, but we also offer a clinic that will help them with future musical endeavors,” McAlister said. “We have mini-voice lessons that help hone technique and style and we give them advice and pointers that can help them in future musical auditions.
“We also have a concert at the end of the day for the Choral Explosion participants where they are able to experience learning a piece of music and performing it for an audience.”
In addition to these activities, the students are able to watch performances by the Northwest-Shoals Jazz Ensemble and the Northwest-Shoals Chorale to see first-hand what it would be like to be part of the music department.
“Our kids enjoy it just as much as the high school students,” McAlister said. “It’s work for them to have to prepare for the event, but they have a good time with the high schoolers.”
Russellville graduate Jordan Burcham, who is a member of the Northwest-Shoals Chorale, agreed the experience was something he was looking forward to.
“By being part of this event, it gives me the opportunity to provide these students with the same experience I received when I attended Choral Explosion in high school,” Burcham said. “I came to it for two years and I really enjoyed getting to see the program close-up and getting to meet some of the college students who were already in the program.”
McAlister said it’s common for the music department to have many students who, like Burcham, attended Choral Explosion in high school.
In fact, McAlister said the event has become so popular, area directors have told him their kids start asking about the event early in the year.
“We have kids that come back multiple times during their high school career,” McAlister added. “When I asked this year’s group who all had been here before, 90 percent of them raised their hands.
“This was a very good group and we could really tell there was some talent among them.”
At the end of the day, McAlister named an Honor Choir that included group participants who were recommended by their choral directors and showed exceptional musical ability during the day’s activities.
These students will have first dibs on auditions for scholarships that are given out by the NWSCC music department.
“I enjoy having this event and getting to interact with all these students,” McAlister said. “It’s something we hope to continue to have for many years to come.”
