BETHLEHEM, PA (May 22-25, 2017)—The award-winning music department of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts will hold its annual Spring Concert Series with its Spring Choral Concert taking place on May 22 and 23 at 7pm, and its Spring Instrumental Concert taking place on Thursday, May 25 at 7pm.
The choral concert will feature all of the school’s choirs, directed by David Macbeth, including the acclaimed Charter Arts Touring Choir. More than 140 students comprise these choirs.
The instrumental concert will feature the school’s Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Orchestra. The Wind Ensemble, led my Matthew Wells, will feature works like Michael Sweeney’s Half Moon on the Hudson and James Swearingen’s Into the Joy of Spring. The impressive Percussion Ensemble, also led by Wells, will be performing Catching Shadows by Ivan Trevino as part of its repertoire. The Charter Arts Orchestra, conducted by Kim Seifert, will skillfully present Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Overture as part of its repertoire.
Tickets are $12 adult, $10 senior/student, and can be purchased online at www.CharterArts.org or at the door if not sold out.
ABOUT THE LEHIGH VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS (CHARTER ARTS) MUSIC DEPARTMENT: The Charter Arts Music Department continues its legacy of excellence as it accrues many accolades and awards. The Charter Arts Music Department was the recipient of the Board of Directors Award at the 2016 Lehigh Valley Music Awards. The department’s work also led Charter Arts to be named as one of only 119 schools in the nation to quality as a 2016 Grammy Signature School Semi-Finalist. The Charter Arts Touring Choir earned a gold medal at the 2012 World Choir Games, which was the highest award for a high school choir at this prestigious international event, and will be returning to compete again this year. The choir has performed to sold-out crowds in the region as well as gracing the stage alongside such acts as the pop group, Paramore, the operatic quartet, The Tenors, and the legendary rock group, Foreigner. In addition, the school’s various instrumental ensembles and individual performers earn many awards at competitions such as the PMEA vocal, orchestra and band competitions; and are often invited to perform with many great artists… for example, the Charter Arts Advanced Jazz Ensemble recently opened for great acts like Julliard Jazz and Kamasi Washington.
Students who major in instrumental or vocal music at Charter Arts, experience a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum, which includes a wide range of classical and jazz studies. The course catalog consists of more than sixty courses that focus on ensemble work, improvisation and individual technique. Students are required to complete courses in music history, four years of music theory, four years of technique classes and a variety of music electives that include: conducting, composition and arranging, or vocal techniques in such genres as opera, German Lied or Italian Song, to name a few.
ABOUT THE LEHIGH VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts (Charter Arts), opened in 2003, is an audition-based, tuition-free, public charter school that provides a comprehensive curriculum for high school students, grades 9-12, who have a passion for the arts. Students major in one of seven artistic areas: dance, theater, vocal music, instrumental music, literary arts, figure skating or visual art.
Charter Arts’ rigorous curriculum fosters both academic and artistic excellence. The school’s impressive PA School Performance Profile (SPP) Academic Score, AP and Keystone exam statistics, student SAT scores, prestigious artistic accolades, and graduation rate are a testament to the outstanding education Charter Arts provides.
Close to 600 students from across Pennsylvania travel into Bethlehem daily to attend Charter Arts. The student body consists of students who hail from towns as far north as the Poconos, as far south as the Philadelphia suburbs, and as far west as Lancaster County. Many students travel two to three hours per day to attend this innovative school.
In 2016, Charter Arts earned the distinction as a Title I High Achievement School for the second year in a row. On the Keystone Exams, Charter Arts students also earned the highest combined proficiency scores of all public and charter schools in the Lehigh Valley.
Charter Arts moved into its brand-new facility in the heart of South Bethlehem’s arts and cultural district in the fall of 2015. The school is located at 321 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
For more information about Charter Arts, visit: www.CharterArts.org or call 610-868-2971.
Information & Image Provided By:
Ann Gillette
Manager of Public Relations and Media
Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts
321 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015
www.CharterArts.org
