Dahlstrom Middle School Varsity Treble Choir, “Chorale,” won the Middle School Group Vocal division of this year’s inaugural Muse Awards, earning an opportunity to perform at Bass Concert Hall in Austin, as well as $1,000 in prize money for the Hays CISD Fine Arts Department. The group includes (back, left to right) Amanda Owens, Dinell Thomas, Ashlyn Nichols, Valisa Kinder, Eboni Jones, Courtney Grenwelge, Calista Brown; (second row, left to right) Faith Broddrick, Reagan Brannen, Alex Moore, Nicole Lewis, Skylar Goertz, Kayla Humphries, Erin Miller; (third row, left to right) Chelsie Davidson, Allison Garcia, Lauren Longoria, Elaina Derrick, Hailey Williams, Lauren Evans; (front, left to right) Hanna Malott, Bonnie Vannatter, Kathryn Meador, Lillian Bonin, Mollie Holloway, Taylor Burrell. Not pictured: Chloe Giberson, Taylor Prassel. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
Combining a sleigh full of talent with the beautiful sounds of the holiday season, Dahlstrom Middle School Varsity Treble Choir, “Chorale,” won the inaugural 2011 Muse Awards in the Middle School Group Vocal division. To accentuate the excitement, Chorale member Faith Broddrick won the competition’s Middle School Solo Vocal division. The dual wins brought $2,000 in prize money to the district’s Fine Arts Department and earned the winners the privilege of performing at Bass Concert Hall in Austin.
Sponsored by Magic 95.5 radio, the 2011 Muse Awards bill themselves as “a holiday-themed music and art competition geared towards raising awareness and donations for the Fine Arts programs of 12 Central Texas public school districts, representing 312 elementary, middle and high schools.”
For local purposes, it was Dahlstrom Middle School got the attention. Dahlstrom Chorale Director Tanna Bills called the concert engagement at Bass Concert Hall, on the campus of University of Texas, an awesome opportunity, saying, “The performance at Bass Concert Hall was incredible. The students were in awe at the size of the auditorium—and they sounded amazing.”
The Muse Awards contest required vocal groups and soloists to submit video recordings of their performances, which were then uploaded to the contest website (the Chorale and Broddrick performances, along with other winners, remain available for viewing at 2011museawards.com). The Dahlstrom girls did a special recording session at Manchaca United Methodist Church and sent in their entries. Not long after those submissions, Bills received a congratulatory phone call from the radio station.
“According to the contest hosts,” Bills says, “the video submissions of schools from the Austin area received millions of hits from as far away as Spain.” The Chorale and solo wins also earned the local girls a performance appearance at the Hill Country Galleria, bringing another award of $500 to their program.
Dahlstrom Principal Dr. Sara Thurman says the Mustangs are “so blessed to have such an outstanding choir” and points to the choir’s “dedicated and passionate teacher, Tanna Bills, who has brought life, energy and excellence to the DMS Choir program.” And what to do with that prize money? Thurman and Bills have their eyes on adding risers, choir dresses, “and possibly a portable electric keyboard set-up for the program.”
