January 27, 2010 (Sent to the Times March 5)
TO:
Dr. H. Randall Dozier, Superintendent of Education, Georgetown County School District, SC
Dr. Celeste Pringle, Asst. Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction
Mr. Jon Tester, Executive Director for Elementary Education
Georgetown County School District Board of Directors
FROM:
Thomas Martin -- Director of Music Ministries/Organist, Georgetown Presbyterian Church; Artistic Director of the Indigo Choral Society, Georgetown, SC
Kathy R. Newton -- Owner of the Music Studio of Georgetown; Pianist, First Baptist Church of Georgetown, SC
Ruth W. Reames – Pianist and Vocal Coach; Organist and Keyboard Artist, First Baptist Church, Georgetown, SC; Office Manager, Care Pharmacy, Georgetown, SC
CC: The Georgetown Times
The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC
Georgetown County, SC, Congressional Delegation
RE: Georgetown County School District Budget Gifted and Talented (BEACH) Summer Program
We have read with great concern that the Georgetown County School District will be cancelling the summer Gifted and Talented Arts program due to budget constraints. As anyone can attest, the economy is not good and all funds for public education must be spent wisely. However, not continuing to fund the summer arts program would be most unfortunate and a huge loss for not only our students but for our community and state.
Since 1990, all three of us have had the great privilege of serving as pianist/accompanist for the Georgetown County School District’s Gifted and Talented BEACH Singers. As professional musicians, we can bear witness to the rare and exceptional musical accomplishments of these students. We have seen first-hand that these gifted and talented music students stand head and shoulders above most public school programs in the nation. Georgetown County enjoys a unique and distinguished reputation for producing such artists as the BEACH Singers. The BEACH Singers set the standard for choral instruction and performance. The cultural and social diversity of these students, representing all attendance areas of the Georgetown County School District in grades 6 - 12, have combined to create a premier and cutting edge choral group.
The curriculum of the BEACH Singers includes music theory, memorization, foreign language and learning music with the internationally acclaimed Kodaly method. This method includes solfege instruction which is based on intervals and hand signs. Their repertoire represents all musical genres:
• Folk songs of Denmark, Ireland, Russia, Brazil, Senegal and Israel;
• Standard choral literature from Praetorius of the Medieval Period to Handel, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Copeland;
• Traditional Spirituals, Broadway musicals, and pop music including Lennon/McCartney and Motown favorites.
The curriculum, teaching methods and song literature of the BEACH program were showcased by the singers and their director at the 2008 SC Music Educators Association’s Annual In-service Conference.
The BEACH Singers have presented a Summer Finale concert every year since their inception in 1990. In addition to the Winter and Spring Concerts, the group has performed literally all over the United States. Over the past 18 years, the diverse and varied instruction taught to these students has opened new and exciting doors for them in many different venues as seen below:
• SC Music Educators Association, 1992;
• SC Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1993;
• Piccolo Spoleto’s Children’s Festival and Young Artists Series, Charleston, SC, 1992, 1993 & 1994, 2000;
• Arts Alive, Francis Marion University, 1996, 1997 & 1998;
• Holiday Concert presented in the East Room of the White House and at the National Park Service’s Pageant of Peace, Washington, DC, 1998;
• Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Conference, Seattle, WA, 2000;
• National School Boards Association National Conference, San Diego, CA, 2001;
• Crescent City Choral Festival for High School Choirs, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 2005. There they performed a world premier of a commissioned work by Dr. David Brunner and were conducted by two nationally acclaimed conductors.
• In concert with the Coastal Carolina University Concert Choir and the Indigo Choral Society of Georgetown County, the BEACH Singers appeared in a presentation of Testament of Freedom by Randall Thompson, Pawleys Island, SC, 2006;
• First Place Honors awarded to the Concert Choir and Women’s Choir Divisions at the Smokey Mountain Music Festival, Gatlinburg, TN, 2006. The Bass section received an Outstanding Performance Award from the distinguished panel of judges which included Kirby Shaw and Weston Noble. Various choirs from Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Indiana, and Florida were in attendance.
• SC Music Educators Association In-service Conference, N. Charleston Center for the Performing Arts, 2008;
• Superior ratings achieved at the SC Music Educators Association Solo and Ensemble Festival, 2009;
• In addition, the Singers have performed for the faculties of Newberry College, Lander University, College of Charleston, and Winthrop University.
The director of the BEACH Singers, Olivia P. Huggins, is one of Georgetown County School District’s music specialists and teaches at McDonald Elementary. Recipient of the Indigo Choral Society’s 2007 Distinguished Artist Award and Organist at St. Paul’s Waccamaw United Methodist Church, Mrs. Huggins is an unfailing advocate for the arts and for her students. Through her passion and love of music, there have been numerous students whom she has inspired. Some of these earned appointments to the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and received significant college scholarships. Many have also majored in Music Education, Music History or Performance earning B.A. and Masters degrees.
It is evident that the summer arts program, where the BEACH Singers receive the bulk of their choral instruction, is a key ingredient in their successful performances throughout the school year. The program’s standard of excellence is maintained through the foundation cultivated in the summer and expanded upon each Monday evening of the school year. If there is any way possible, we hope that the Georgetown County School Board can find a way to preserve the summer study arts program. This unique program is an asset to not only the students of Georgetown County but also to the community and the state. The BEACH Singers have “put us on the map” of choral excellence whenever and wherever they have performed. We can all be proud of and hopeful for the futures of these distinguished students of the Georgetown County School District.