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Stillwater Area High School
5701 Stillwater Blvd. N.
Stillwater, MN 55082

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POPS Concert

Erin Byrne
Copy Editor

Every year around this time, the choir room is abuzz with
activity; groups gallivanting around, singing and dancing
and trying to pick which song they are going to do for the
annual Pops Concert.

Run mostly by the Concert Choir, Pops Concert has been
a huge attraction for students for years.

"My favorite part of Pops was watching all of the performances
on stage. Even though we were behind the performers, it was still fun to dance and sing along to the songs," said senior Kris Reier.

Each group playing in the concert must audition for the Concert Choir, who will ultimately decide the groups’ fates. In addition to individual groups performing, each choir will be performing a piece at the concert as well.

"The mass piece being performed is Proud Mary, the Tina Turner version," said senior Nick Newman, who is a member of Concert Choir as well as Concert Wind Symphony, Jazz Band, Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Youth Jazz Band, Vagabonds, Battle of the Bands-winners Player Straigh7 and is the President of Pep Band.

"Nick's super talented, and a musical over-achiever, so knowing he's a part of just about everything isn't surprising," said Reier, a member of the Belle Chanter choir.And then Make Me Smile By chicago with the Jazz bandConcert Wind Symphony, President of Pep Band, Jazz Band Trumpet section leader, Player Straigh7, Chamber Orchestra, Orchestral winds, Minnesota Youth Jazz band, VagabondsConcert Wind Symphony, President of Pep Band, Jazz Band Trumpet section leader, Player Straigh7, Chamber Orchestra, Orchestral winds, Minnesota Youth Jazz band, VagabondsConcert Wind Symphony, President of Pep Band, Jazz Band Trumpet section leader, Player Straigh7, Chamber Orchestra, Orchestral winds, Minnesota Youth Jazz band, Vagabonds

Besides being in all of those groups, Newman is planning on performing pieces with other musicians as well.

"‘Let’s Get Together’ by Newton Faulkner with Joey Doyscher (’10)," Newman said, rattling off his list. "Then ‘Sell Out’ with my Ska band. And then ‘Make Me Smile’ by Chicago with the Jazz Band."

Along with his many performances, Newman is also the instrument director for the show. The mass piece will feature a back-up band consisting of two guitarists, a bass player, a drummer, two trumpets (including Newman himself), three saxophones and two trombonists.

"Belle Chanter picked Somebody To Love for Pops this year. The Glee version, not the original," Reier said, referring to the popular show on the FOX network.

Auditions for this year’s show were held the last full week of May and the performances will be June 3 at 5:30 and 8 p.m.

"I'm excited to see who will be performing what this year. I've got more friends that will be auditioning, so it'll be fun to see them perform," said Reier.

Though Pops Concert occurs every year, it offers up something new and different every year, which keeps it interesting. One of the men’s choirs is rumored to be planning on doing Tik Tok by Ke$ha for their Pops act, which brings back memories of a few years’ past of a certain choir doing a Spice Girls routine. But no matter how eye-scorching these acts may be, they are focused on being the best they can be, which are very entertaining and fun to listen to.