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Speech and Debate team finishes 7th at State
Tyler Rife, Emma Couch place 1st
Oakwood High School's Speech and Debate Team
At the Ohio High School Speech League State Tournament, Oakwood did remarkably well, having two individual champions and an overall seventh place. Tyler Rife finished first with his piece “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and also earned the Candis Pees award for having the most “1’s” in the Humorous Interpretation category during the tournament. Emma Couch also spoke her way to first place with her Original Oration entitled “Wait…What Event is This?”
Siobhan Tellez also was in the final round for international extemporaneous speaking, finishing fifth. Many speech competitors also reached semi- and quarterfinal rounds. Joanna Draper (Dramatic Interpretation), Mason Cammel (Prose/Poetry Reading), and Dillon Corrigan (Humorous Interpretation) all were in semifinal rounds, while Rob Mitchell and Melanie Ward were in the quarterfinal rounds for Duo Interpretation. In debate, Jeff Nagel and Maggie Light-Scotece reached the octafinal round. Jeff was also the fourth speaker for the tournament.
The speech and debate team would like to thank their coaches, Alex Kordik and Brianna Doyal, for their time and effort in helping the team do so well. The team would also like to thank the parents, especially those who help at tournaments by judging. Good luck at Nationals!
Sacred Harp singers perform monthly at LCOS
Oakwood’s Lutheran Church of Our Savior has a long history of commitment to quality music programs as evidenced by its choirs, hymn singing during worship services and concerts by community based choirs such as Musica. Little known though, is the fact that LCOS in Oakwood now hosts one of the largest singings of Sacred Harp music in the Midwest, surpassed only by Chicago and Minneapolis. On the fourth Sunday of every month from September through May, the Dayton Sacred Harp Singers gather to sing in the “blue room”. Singing begins promptly at 3 p.m. with a break for a pot luck supper and concludes at 6 p.m. The singing now attracts between 60 and 70 singers who come from all parts of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. This past Sunday, over 100 singers were present for the event.
Sacred Harp (the name refers to the human voice and a hymn book published in 1844) is a unique form of singing, a form that at one time was common in the south where churches had no choir, no organ or even a piano. This old form of singing was almost lost during the time of the Civil War but fortunately was preserved in small rural churches in the South.
The text of the hymns deal with subjects that contemporary churches often give little heed to, hard times, suffering, death and loss. To a first-time visitor at a singing, everything seems different. Singers immediately arrange themselves in the form of a square in the room, leaving an empty space in the center, tenors on one side opposite the altos, basses on the other, opposite the treble section.
The notations in the hymnal look different, too, and take the form of shapes: an oval, a triangle, a rectangle and a diamond. The melody is sung by the tenor section, both men and women singing the tenor lines an octave apart, and men and women alike singing the treble part, thus making for six-part harmony.
The melodies are haunting, yet at the same time familiar, and singers and listeners alike are deeply touched. Singings are neither concerts nor performances, but simply the beautiful sound of individual voices gathered together to praise the Lord.
At the LCOS singings, one instantly notices the diversity of the group, and families dressed in traditional Amish style, home-sewn clothing, mingle with college professors. Singers step forth, one by one, young and old, announce the number of the hymn which they wish to lead, the pitch is set and the singing begins. However, it does not begin with words, but rather with the names of the shapes of the notes, Fa, So, La and Mi.
Once the group has gone through the hymn in this manner, the words are sung. At the February singing, 46 hymns were led and sung. For some unknown reason, while the quality of singing is great during the first half of the session, it really picks up after the pot-luck dinner, and some of the best singing in the country can be heard at that time.
It’s different, it’s amazing and it’s all right here at The Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Oakwood. Visitors are welcome, both singers and listeners.
The Sacred Harp singers will be gracing the LCOS “blue room” once again on Sunday, April 26. The public is cordially invited to attend.
Coming April 14 A special section celebrating those chummy, loveable Including… Only $15 per photo Email (preferred) photo and information to: Snail Mail photo, info & check to: Hand-deliver photo, info & check to:
Deadline for entries – Wednesday, April 8 |
March 24, 2009
Volume 18, No. 12
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