York Town News
York High School singers to perform holiday concert… in Portsmouth
By Jennifer L. Saunders
The York High School Choral Music Department has outgrown every venue in York. Pictured here in rehearsal, singing against the acoustics in the York High School auditorium because they no longer fit on the stage, the singers will travel to Portsmouth, N.H., on Monday to perform their 2006 Holiday Concert. The students pictured are preparing for a portion of the performance to be sung by candlelight.
Courtesy photo
YORK - There's an old adage in the performing arts about taking the show on the road, but for York High School Choral Director Rob Westerberg and the more than 200 students in his program, that phrase has a meaning all its own.
That's because, after years of not fitting on the stage in the school's auditorium and instead performing concerts at St. Christopher's Church, their program has now outgrown even that space - and is gearing up to perform on Monday, Dec. 11, across the state line, at Portsmouth High School in New Hampshire.
"We must be the only choir in New England that has to hold its 'home' concert out of state. … It's certainly a bittersweet concert for us," Westerberg said, explaining the students appreciate having the opportunity to perform in Portsmouth's facility, but that it is also frustrating to be going out of state to do so.
The reason is, simply, that the success of the program means the chorus is too big for any York venue.
"We already fill the church twice when we do perform at the church," Westerberg explained, adding his groups will return to St. Christopher's if the numbers should drop at a future date. "We've literally run out of space. There's no place left in York."
Talks are continuing at the School Committee and School Building Committee level on how to address the need for space for the arts at York High School after the defeat of the proposed arts wing project back in May, including proposals to reduce the size of the project or to phase it in over time.
Both Westerberg and Principal Bob Stevens have repeatedly spoken about the status of the arts as for-credit, academic course subjects, required by the Maine Learning Results.
"The bottom line is that we have two sections: the treble choir and the chorus. We created that three years ago because the numbers became too big to have one section. Now just one of the sections has 165 students in it this semester," Westerberg explained.
In total the choral program numbers about 225 students.
Putting that number into the context of students enrolled at York High School, Westerberg said, "We have 32 percent in the choral program - one-third of the school population."
This year, those numbers reflect an increase of 50 students.
"At least for this concert, the size of the chorus does not fit on the altar at St. Christopher's Church," he said, adding, "I can't justify, after three months of rehearsal, putting my kids in a space where they physically can't see me."
In evaluating sites in the area, Westerberg even checked out the nearby Ogunquit Playhouse, but it is not winterized. Portsmouth High School was the largest facility in reasonable proximity to York.
"It's very important to me that the students, parents and community recognize this as an academic subject," Westerberg said.
Because the concerts are part of an academic class, Westerberg said, they are offered free-of-charge, as would be a science fair or another academic event of that nature.
That being said, there are costs attached to having the concert offsite. The York School Department must pay for the use of the Portsmouth facility, as well as police, custodial and technical assistance for an event of this size.
And, too, there are transportation costs, as the auditorium at York High School is too small for the larger sections to perform on the stage - making it impossible for the group to hear their sound as they gear up for a performance. Rehearsals are at St. Christopher's, with four buses for choir and two for treble choir making two trips.
On top of that, Westerberg said, "All 225 kids are being pulled out of their other subjects for two and a half hours so they can rehearse once at the (Portsmouth) high school before the concert."
With the proper space in place at the high school, he confirmed, those added expenses and the loss of class time would not be necessary.
In the meantime, Westerberg said he hopes members of the community will take the drive to Portsmouth to hear this talented group of young performers in the York High School Holiday Concert on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature the treble choir, chorus and Chamber Singers performing a variety of sacred and secular, seasonal and general choral music including selections by Alfred Burt, Randall Thompson, Benjamin Britten and W.A. Mozart.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the concert is free and open to the public. For more information call York High School at 363-3621.
