The Local Vocal Chord Bowl is coming back on a high note.
The Local Vocal Chord Bowl — or simply “The Local Vocal,” as organizers call it — is an a cappella showcase with performances from high school, college and adult singing groups in the Valley. It will return for its 15th year this Saturday, March 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Northampton High School.
This year’s participating groups are the Northamptones and NHS Chamber Choir, both of Northampton High School; ARHS Hurricane Singers and ARHS Chorale, both of Amherst Regional High School; UMass S#arp Attitude of the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Blackappella/POCappella of Smith College; The Cider House Five; and Green Street Brew.
NHS Choral Director Susan Dillard noted that the Chamber Choir’s setlist features the Scottish traditional “Loch Lomond,” an Estonian folk piece, and “Seasons of Love” from the musical “Rent.” Meanwhile, the Northamptones will be singing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” Todd Fruth, choral director at ARHS and director of Green Street Brew, said his groups’ setlists will include “Erase Me” by Lizzy McAlpine and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” by Fugees. The Cider House Five will be performing barbershop pieces. Fruth didn’t want to share exact songs on Green Street Brew’s setlist, but he said they would be “very much tied to things that are going on in the world, [and] we’re responding to that in our own way.”
The Local Vocal was originally created as a fundraiser for the Academy of Music. It was a spinoff of the long-running Silver Chord Bowl, an a cappella showcase produced by the Northampton Arts Council, which brings groups from across New England (not just the Pioneer Valley). The Local Vocal’s venue alternates every year between Northampton High School and Amherst Regional High School, but proceeds from donations and ticket sales are split between the two schools’ music programs – and those funds have been a huge boon, educators say.
Dillard said that funds have paid for 12 piano keyboards in her classroom as well as an improvement to the sound system in the school’s auditorium. Her students will also be going on a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, in April, and funds raised from past Local Vocals have helped cover those costs.
At Amherst Regional High School, Local Vocal funds have helped pay for annual overnight music-related trips, a baby grand piano, clinicians to work with students at the school, and an upcoming field trip to a recording studio.
“It’s really ensured access for everyone to be able to go,” Fruth said. “We’re committed to making sure all of our students can go, regardless of the means, so that’s a huge, huge help.”
But the impact of the Local Vocal goes beyond funding — it also helps young participants envision the ways that they can continue with choral music in the future.
“Performances are really where the rubber hits the road for our students who are musicians,” Dillard said. “Performances can help students build confidence and connect to others doing the same thing, and they can visualize what the future could hold.”
Dillard knows that herself, in fact — she sang in the first ever Local Vocal as an NHS student, and now she’s the school’s choral director.
“That’s an inspiration for kids,” said Local Vocal organizer Ann Chiara.
“My biggest goal as an educator is to show that music, especially singing, is just so powerful and so essential, and to see people of all ages doing it, I know, has directly inspired students to continue singing in college,” Fruth said. In fact, one of his former students joined the Smiffenpoofs, a vocal performance group at Smith College, because she was impressed by their performance at a previous Local Vocal.
“Just getting people to see, ‘Hey, this is something that people continue to do for the rest of their lives and find tremendous meaning in it’ — there’s no better way to show it than this event,” he added.
Admission to the Local Vocal Chord Bowl is available for a suggested donation of $15 for adults and $10 (or $11 if bought online) for seniors and students 13 and up. Children 12 and under are free. Additional donations will be accepted. Tickets are available at greenstreetbrew.com or at the door. Guests will also be able to take part in a raffle for tickets and a membership to local performance venues, including the Iron Horse, the Parlor Room, the Academy of Music, the Northampton Center for the Arts, The Drake, CitySpace and Bombyx.
