February 16, 2022

The Granbury High School men’s choir thrilled attendees at a performance at the Texas Music Educators Association state convention on February 11, 2022, in San Antonio.

The group earned the prestigious invitation in February.  Performing as an Invited Choir is an incredible accomplishment, according to choir director Kendra Fisher. 

The Granbury varsity tenor-bass ensemble was the only high school men’s chorus invited to perform at the state conference, one of the country’s largest gatherings of music educators held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.  The invitation was extended following multiple rounds of adjudicators listening to recordings from school groups representing the past 3-4 years of work.

“Our entire program is based around words of wisdom for young men, or really, for all young people, as they are about to embark upon their individual life journeys,” commented Fisher, who is assisted by Kyle Wheatley.  “This is particularly meaningful to me with this group of young men, as all three of my own sons are performing with this group, and all of these boys have been friends for so long and to me, each of them may as well be my own child. And also, because this group of young men has already been through so many difficult times in the last four years, and I have watched them overcome every trial with unwavering grace and determination to keep going.”

Music literature for the concert included “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing” by Ralph Vaughan Williams and arranged by Craig Courtney, “Regnum Mundi” by Jacob Handl and edited by Allen Crowell, “Meestelaulud No. 8 Tantsulaul” by Veljo Tormis, “Die Lotosblume” from Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männerchor by Robert Schumann and edited by Matthew Oltman, “Rozszumiały Się Wierzby Płaczące” from Three Polish War Songs by Vasily Agapkin and arranged by Derek Myler, “Mis on inimene” by Pärt Uusberg, and “If” by Reginal Wright. 

“In planning the program, I wanted to give them music that was both challenging and worthy of a performance of this caliber, but at the same time would be meaningful, powerful, stir their souls, and impact the listener as well,” Fisher said.

The choir specially commissioned “If” by Wright for the TMEA performance. “I knew that the text to Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem, IF, would perfectly tie together all of the music in the program,” stated Fisher. “Mr. Wright is an outstanding high school choral director and composer, and he knows exactly how to compose music that perfectly fits the high school male voice.  Many of our students were already familiar with his teaching and composing genius through their interaction with him as an All-State choir camp clinician at Tarleton State University and more recently because his piece ‘Invictus’ was chosen as an All-State piece for this year’s Texas All-State Men’s Choir.” 

Ensemble members are:

• Tenor 1:  Kaleb Covert, Aidan Felton, Ashton Lemens, Peter O’Carroll, William Power
• Tenor 2:  Spencer Burnfield, Brennan Fisher, Chad Flatt, Connor Garcia, Isaac O’Neal, Tyler Peterson, Jackson Powell, Bleu Slater
• Bass 1:  Daniel Blankenship, Garrett Brodnik, Dylan Coleman-Barron, Brady Cornelison, Aidan Fisher, Juan Gervacio Coronilla, Aiden Lemens, Cameron Moore, Orlando Quintana, Jaxson Sherrill, Matthew Shute, Payton Thomason, Ethan Townsend, Matthew Walters
• Bass 2:  Jack Barefoot, Austin Brassie, Caleb Fisher, Nolan Moore, Jorge Rodriguez Aldape, Abiah Wark

Collaborative pianists for the group were Dr. Oscar Dressler and Marie Rogers.