Editor:

Hundreds of students performed in a FINE musical program of first rate literature at Maple Mountain High School last Friday evening. Nebo School District, you got it right. With well trained, excited, beautiful people, a wonderfully equipped facility, super musical coaches, it was a memorable evening. Keep up the good work.

The young people sang/performed well. Did I see faculty, parents, administrators and other volunteers perform and help with the program? Yes! Neat! And it was a full house of interested people to witness the program.

The combined choirs from Springville High School and Maple Mountain High School, including the combined SATB choirs, Men's choirs and Women's choirs, filled the evening with Contemporary and Baroque Music. Perhaps the highlight was the Vivaldi Cantata, GLORIA.

Everything was memorized with Latin text and lasting thirty minutes. They were accompanied by a Baroque instrumental ensemble which included the piano rather than the Continual or Harpsichord. Had Vivaldi had a piano, I am sure he would have used it. The final number, arranged by our own very famous Utah home grown composer/arranger Mack Wilberg, ANTHEM OF PEACE, was performed by all the singers. They filled the stage and all four isles, front to back. As mentioned, the hall was full. When students are excited about their program, you can bet the parents/public will be there. You could tell this was so after the evening ended by the FUN noise of performers in the halls. Another big YES for a successful evening. Not all was perfect. Students still need to learn/apply more as directed from their instructors. So, work for cleaner consonants in singing of the text, especially the Latin. Even though this is way foreign to the listener, musicality and feeling of rhythm is derived from clean diction.

Tech crew, don't turn the lights out on the instrumentalists when high lighting the soloists. Perhaps lights for the music stands would be a good idea.

Men, you sang neat music. It was fun too. It would have been much more fun to have seem smiles. You were so stiff. I know you got excellent acclimation at the end of your part of the program but-! Be careful of those "l" sounds. Sometimes they sounded "l"ish.

Ladies, stronger consonants. Articulate them well. Larger difference between dynamic levels would have added more interest to the program throughout the evening. Instrumentalists were only SUPER. Whenever there are student instrumental accompanists, I usually hear intonation problems/mistakes. I did not that evening. Choirs, soloists, the same, no intonation problems and so positive.

Adults were super too and my thanks for your interest and participation. Directors, I am glad you're here in our schools and not other schools. I hope you are here forever. To others whom I have failed to mention, way to go! Only ten weeks of rehearsal for a program like this, not to mention all the other music and school work you have had to do, all I can say is WOW. Let's all support continued musical programs in our schools as they are prepared.

Karl Barton

Springville