11 minute read
Hats Off To Ryan Keebaugh
By Olivia Pitts
For me, singing in a choir has been a major outlet for stress relief, and has given me overall enjoyment and happiness for as long as I can remember. The harmonies and melodies of choral pieces make me squirm in my seat with excitement when I sing in a group of people that are just as infl uenced by music as I am. Although this has always been the case for me, it wasn’t until this year at Clarke County High School that I really began to understand just how much I love music and how overjoyed I am to continue to study it as a professional career; all thanks to our new director Dr. Ryan Keebaugh.
Advertisement
I’m seventeen and a junior at Clarke County High School. I’ve been singing my entire life, and I’ve participated in a choral group — at school or in a community choir — for 9 years now. Since moving to Clarke County High School in my seventh grade year, I’ve experienced three different choral directors: Joel Shapiro in middle school, Chamber Choir my freshman year with Dr.
Janna Brendell, and now under the direction of Dr. Keebaugh. Although I’ve had many memorable experiences with all three of these wonderful directors, I can easily say that Dr. Keebaugh has been the most infl uential adult fi gure and role model in my life.
Dr. Keebaugh has served on the faculty of Clarke County Public Schools, Mary Baldwin University, Lord Fairfax Community College, and Eastern Mennonite University. He taught here in Clarke County six years ago, until moving to teach at Eastern Mennonite University’s (EMU) choral program. He is now currently teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade choirs at Johnson Williams Middle School, along with IB Music Theory and Composition and Concert and Chamber choirs at Clarke County High School. If you were to ask any student or parent who has ever had an encounter with Dr. Keebaugh, I’m sure they would tell you that they love him to death. I believe that people love how
he can go from teaching music to making jokes, all while still teaching lifelong skills.
Dr. Keebaugh has taught our choir many important life lessons and musical skills so far, and we are only halfway through this school year! I’ve grown so close to him as a person and as an infl uencer. I admire how important it is to him to get to know each one of his students and how he greets everyone he meets with open arms. He has his own system of teaching and working and I believe that it is really going to help our future choral program here in Clarke County.
Every choir class with Dr. Keebaugh is a blast. We start off our day with a “daily pun” presented by one of the seniors in Chamber, Gabby Boukia. We then practice a warm up that we do every day. It starts with the days of the week: forwards, backwards, skipping, and then backwards skipping. Then we say the months in order: forwards and backwards. Finally, we say the planets in their order, ending
with “and pluto... according to Dr. Keebaugh.” After this ridiculously hard warm up, we dive our heads into our binders fi lled with music. Choir is such an easy class to allow ourselves to let back and just sing our hearts out. It’s really beautiful. The amount of talent we have in our county is very infl uential.
On February 22, our high school choirs are hosting our annual Cake Off. Essentially, the Cake Off is a Valentine’s Day-themed fundraiser fi lled with music, auction items, and lots of sweets! It goes from 6:30 to 8:30 and is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and kids 5 and under get in for free. The Cake Off is always our biggest fundraiser of the year; we use most, if not all the money raised to help pay for our Spring trip. Last
year our Chamber Choir visited New York City for a weekend in April of 2019. We sang on the Radio City stage, experienced a Boadway workshop with a cast member from the Broadway musical Wicked, and you may have even seen us on the Today show. For our spring trip this year, we are hoping to be able to take a trip to Chicago in June of 2020.
We have many choral events coming up this year, including our Talent Show at CCHS on March 20 at 7pm, a performance at the Berryville Baptist Church on March 22nd at 3:00pm, and our spring concert at CCHS on May 7 at 7pm. We always love having a big audience, and would love to share our music with some new faces!
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for Home. - Edith Sitwell
The Clarke County Choir Annual Concert and Cake Bake Off Enjoy a Performance, a Delicious Dessert Bu et & Silent Auction with fabulous prizes!
Attendees help judge the student baked cakes.
Organic Plum STUDIO A di erent type of spa experience. Facials • Waxing Body Treatments Lash Li ing and Tinting Brow Tinting and Derma ling
Gi Certi cates available online or call for more information.
30 West Main Street, Berryville 703-967-8719 www.organicplumskincare.com by appointment
You Are Cordially Invited To Join The Mocktail Club If you want to redefine your relationship with alcohol join the club! Every Friday - 6-7pm at The Sanctuary Wellness Center 208 N Buckmarsh St, Berryville NO Judgements. NO Labels. NO Rules. Just friends sharing support, ideas, and experience. Whether you are • committed to a lifetime of sobriety • taking a break • looking to increase your alcohol free days or • you’re simply sober curious You are not alone and it is easier than you know. Find what works for you.
TL313B PRE-OWNED SALES EVENT
Plus tax, tags and $799 processing fee. Offers expire 2/29/2020. CL257A MT1160A CL246A $ 5,397 RAV4 LIMITED 4WD 2010 TOYOTA IMPREZA 2.5i AWD 2010 SUBARU TERRAIN SLE-2 AWD 2013 GMC $ 7,697 $ 10,697 MT1167A MT1107A TK1363A $ 12,897 SONIC LT HATCHBACK 2019 CHEVROLET RAV4 XLE AWD 2015 TOYOTA CAMARO 1LT COUPE 2016 CHEVROLET $ 14,497 $ 16,547 TL402A TL342B MT1151 $ 22,947 FORESTER 2.5i PREMIUM AWD 2018 SUBARU RAV4 XLE AWD 2017 TOYOTA TAHOE LT 4-WHEEL DRIVE 2013 CHEVROLET $ 24,397 $ 25,797 TK1167A CL166A MT1159 $ 29,797 4-RUNNER LIMITED 4WD 2017 TOYOTA GRAND CHEROKEE ALTITUDE 4-WHEEL DRIVE 2018 JEEP F-350 LARIAT CREW CAB 4WD 2014 FORD $ 34,897 Plus tax, tags and $799 processing fee. Offers expire 2/29/2020. LARIAT CREW CAB 4WD $ 39,557
AVALON XLS 2008 TOYOTA SEQUOIA SR5 4WD 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA XLE 2011 TOYOTA $ 7,197 $ 8,797 $ 12,297 PATHFINDER SV 4-WHEEL DRIVE 2013 NISSAN CR-V EX ALL-WHEEL DRIVE 2014 HONDA EQUINOX PREMIER AWD 2017 CHEVROLET PATHFINDER $ 13,447 $ 16,297 $ 19,337 CR-V TOURING AWD 2017 HONDA TACOMA SR ACCESS CAB 4WD 2017 TOYOTA RAV4 LIMITED AWD 2017 TOYOTA $ 24,947 $ 26,297 TRAVERSE LT ALL-WHEEL DRIVE 2018 CHEVROLET TACOMA TRD OFF-ROAD DOUBLE CAB 4WD 2019 TOYOTA SEQUOIA TRD SPORT 4WD 2019 TOYOTA $ 33,397 TRD OFF-ROAD DOUBLE CAB 4WD $ 35,197 $ 52,497 $ 24,297
