December 8, 2012
KHS offers evening of the arts
By AUSTIN KING
news2@kilgorenewsherald.com
It's no secret there are many talented young artists in Kilgore Independent School District Schools.
On Thursday, Kilgore High School musical, theater and art organizations will work in unison at Forest Home Baptist Church.
"I don't know of any other East Texas school district that does something like this," said KHS orchestra director Tristan Roberts. "This is the first time we've done this that I know of."
Roberts coordinated with his fellow KHS art directors to make the evening of fine arts a reality.
"I'm all about building relationships," Roberts said. "If Kilgore can coordinate all of our fine arts, we can give our students more opportunities to perform and build better relationships in the community. It'll be entertaining, I guarantee."
KHS choir, orchestra and band will provide an assortment of musical numbers, while theater students will give performances and MC the event and the work of art students will be on display.
"This is going to be huge," Roberts said. "It's great that we're doing it this year, and we want to make it better next year."
Each organization of the collaboration has been at work in the past weeks preparing for the night. In total, Roberts estimated that about 130 students will participate in the evening.
"We'll be doing 'Carol of the Bells,' 'Angels in the Bleak Midwinter' and 'Mistletoes'," said KHS choir director Karla Parmelee. "We also have one solo. We've been working on the first piece since September. We have a really good group this year."
Roberts also noted that interim superintendent Dennis Williams will narrate "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."
"We've got several tunes," Roberts said. "The step orchestra will do a symphony arrangement and a Christmas carol. Our chamber and symphony orchestra will also play several tunes."
"We'll play a few pieces of music, everything we'll play is a Christmas tune, and we'll also play in the finale at the end," said KHS assistant band director Chris Murray.
A number of theater students have been at work putting together their acts to go alongside the musical performances.
"We're doing a number of things," said Keith Proctor, theater and arts teacher. "We have two students, Reese Black and Justin Farmer, as the masters of ceremonies."
Other acts include Tori Whitwell's "Platypus" monologue, Black and Reid McDonald's "Who's On First" skit,
Farmer's " Murder by Midnight" monologue,
Maddie Bingham's solo vocalist performance, Whitwell and McDonald will sing "No Matter What" from "Beauty and the Beast" and Phillip Frazier and Farmer will finish with an improvisational skit.
In addition to helping coordinate the event with art students, art teacher Holly Ernst has designed the programs for the evening. The hard work of KHS art students will be on display, and in some cases up for grabs.
"We're going to have a silent auction with the students' art," Ernst said. "The proceeds will go to the art club and the church."
The KHS Evening with the Arts event is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Forest Home Baptist Church in Kilgore. The church's capacity is 1,100, and it is advised that those who wish to attend show up early.
"We want to graciously thank Forest Home for coordinating with us and providing this venue," Roberts said.
