SAD 1 ‘Pops’ chorus concert
to feature something for everyone
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — From a Beatles classic, to jazz tunes to a Taylor Swift hit, Monday night’s SAD 1 “Pops” chorus concert will feature something for everyone.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. March 21 at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium, the concert will feature the PIMS boys and girls choirs and the Presque Isle High School chorus and jazz choir.
“The students like to do more contemporary kinds of music; I tend to favor more of the classics, so I try to compromise and each year after Christmas we prepare for a ‘Pops’ concert which focuses on a wider array of songs,” said Jay Nelson, vocal music teacher and chorus director. “I’ve got a couple of jazz tunes that the kids will be singing, and then we do anything from the Beatles to Taylor Swift. It’s something to keep the kids interested during the winter months.”
Among the more than a dozen songs to be performed Monday night will include “Love Story,” “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Under the Boardwalk.”
“People from my generation, or maybe a little younger, will recognize a lot of the songs,” said Nelson. “We’re also doing an arrangement of ‘Pure Imagination’ from Willy Wonka. There should be something for everybody.
“In this case, ‘Pops’ refers to primarily music that’s been popular anywhere over the last 70 or 80 years,” he said “… from the jazz era all the way up to today’s contemporary music.”
The free concert, Nelson said, also ties into March being Music in Our Schools Month.
“It’s important to get music out there into the public so people can see what we’re working on,” he said. “I hope community members come out and support these talented students and enjoy some great music at the same time.”
