There is something to be said for the sound of an all men’s choir filling up an auditorium. This year, Erie High’s Mrs. Janay Bird and Erie Middle’s Ms. Abigail Martinez teamed up to create an all day event to showcase the great talents the boys have here in Erie with a festival lead by director Mr. Dave Gleason.

This festival, exclusively for male voices, brought together 7-12th grade students from Erie High School, Erie Middle School, and the Colorado Children’s Chorale alumni. This event was hosted by Erie High School and was presented in the auditorium on Tuesday, November 14th.

“It’s a lot of fun!” exclaimed Gleason, who is the choir director at Green Mountain High School. He explained that he was excited when Mrs. Bird asked him to direct Erie Men’s Fest because it “Added middle school students and students [he] doesn’t normally have, so it was fun to work with them.”

Even though the students only had a few hours to learn three pieces of music, Gleason comments that they were  “Fantastic” to work with because they knew how to sight read. The skill set that Erie choir kids helped with pulling off a very successful performance in just half a day of rehearsal.

Garion Hall, who is a junior here at Erie High, loved the fact that there were “No commitments afterward.” Students come in first thing in the morning and jump right into warm-ups and rehearsal. “We’re all a little tired,” Garion adds. By the end of the school day, students have learned and performed three songs, watched a special performance by CU Boulder’s Men Chorus, and got to work with CU Boulder director, Craig Robison.

Having a small festival with only Erie kids and some Colorado Children’s Chorale alumni made the festival “more family like,” says Hall, who felt connected to everyone at Men’s Fest. He wasn’t afraid to sing out since he was surrounded by boys that have the same voice cracks that he does.

Getting to work with with an experienced male choral director is one of the biggest benefits of Men’s Fest. Since Erie High and Erie Middle choir students are lead by female directors, they do not get much hands-on experience with their voices. Erie High School’s choir director, Mrs. Bird explained that she is “not able to model men’s voice or how to sing healthy as a boy. [She] talks about it, describes it, but it’s a really great experience for them to get to work with an actual male director.”

Mrs. Bird is very excited that she got to “shake things up” with Ms. Martinez to create a festival that Erie can call its own. She is also hopeful that other schools will soon get to take part and so Erie’s Men’s Fest will become a tradition for many years to come.

Check out a clip from Men’s Fest performance of “Set Me as a Seal” by John Leavitt below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1V1wiZRCIY&feature=em-upload_owner