Performance by Pasadena High School Choir at December 10 meeting

The Pasadena High School Choral Program has been in existence for over 78 years.  Students in this esteemed organization have been members of the Texas Music Educators Region and All State Choirs.  They have participated in Solo and Ensemble Contests and have performed dozens of concerts throughout the community.  The choir is known for its contributions to community spirit, singing for nursing homes, service and church organizations.  We are one of the most ardent supporting groups from Pasadena High School participating in as many activities as possible throughout the year.   We visit hospitals, day care centers, and businesses in our area.  The PHS choir has historically traveled in and out of state yearly singing in festivals and contests and visiting interesting and fun sights around the nation.  The choirs have traveled to Washington, DC., Orlando, Florida, Winter Park, Colorado, and New York City as well as many Texas cities.  We have received festival awards and have performed successfully at UIL Concert and Sight Reading yearly.  This choir received the coveted Sweepstakes award last year at UIL. 

The PHS choral program is made up of 150 students divided into four performing choirs.  A Cappella, Showtime!, Women’s Choir and Men’s Choir are composed of students from grades 9-12.  The students perform 6 major concerts per year, Fall, Christmas, Spring, UIL Concert and Sightreading, Intermediate Choir Night and the Spring Pop Show.

The Fine Arts department will perform “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” in the spring.

All of our students will be performing their Holiday music next Monday night, December 13, 2010 at St. Pius V Catholic Church.

The directors are Kathy Stagg Wright and Ryan Villaverde. 

Mrs. Wright has been a choral director at PHS for twenty six years.  She attended the University of Southern Mississippi and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi where she graduated as a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Scholastic Society.  Mrs. Wright has taught private piano, choral music, and has worked as a church choral director and accompanist in the Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches.   Mrs. Wright is a member of Texas Music Educators Association and the American Choral Directors Association.  Her desire and philosophy as a teacher is to “create lifelong musicians”.

Mr. Villaverde, a native of Palmetto Bay, Florida is in his fifth year as a choral director and his eighth year with PISD. He has taught Spanish in addition to choir for the public schools in both Texas and California having received a Bachelor’s degree from The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master’s degree from U of H. Before embarking on a teaching career he spent six years as an opera and musical theatre singer performing a large variety of roles in venues around the country and in Europe. In addition to being the new associate choir director at PHS he is a director for the Houston Boy’s Choir and the Choirmaster at Congregation Brith Shalom in Bellaire, Texas.