Rhymes with Orange to debut on state stage

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

The ever-growing music department at Charles City High School has another “first” coming.

Rhymes with Orange, the vocal jazz ensemble directed by instructor Derek Sturtevant, will perform for the first time at a state-level vocal jazz clinic at Maquoketa Valley High School Thursday afternoon.

The jazz ensemble will be judged by instructors who assign ratings, much like the existing small group or large group ensemble contests Charles City musicians regularly take part in.

“This is the first time Charles City has done this because this is the first time Charles City has had a jazz choir, which is really great,” Sturtevant said. “I don’t think they’ve had any extracurricular groups go to any festivals like this since they had a show choir.”

The festival is open for public viewing, although ticket prices were not available online. Rhymes with Orange performs at 3:20 p.m.

This is the second year of Rhymes with Orange, an audition-only student group. The ensemble traveled to a jazz festival in Illinois during the 2016-17 school year but did not compete at the time, Sturtevant said.

“The group has taken off really nicely. It’s gotten it’s own identity, it’s performed quite a bit and they’re kind of coming into their own,” he said.

The group has a jazz combo of Charles City instrumentalists — a percussionist, pianist and bassist who accompany Rhymes with Orange.

“It’s really cool for them to have accompaniment other than just piano, and it’s stylistically appropriate for what they’re doing,” Sturtevant said. “Now we have a jazz department. … We’ve had jazz band at Charles City forever, but the jazz choir was just never there.”

Rhymes with Orange will travel to another festival in April at Southwest Community College, where the group will perform for vocal jazz clinicians.

New this year to Charles City is a second established vocal jazz ensemble, 2 Jazzed Up. This group is also audition-only but includes students from eighth grade to seniors who were interested in learning jazz-style singing techniques. Thirty-two Charles City students are involved in the ensembles now, Sturtevant said.

“We used to have a chamber choir, and we had this conversation that jazz offers more opportunities for our students to do different things, and it exposes them to a different type of music,” Sturtevant said. “It’s not pop music, it’s not classical chamber music that you would expect, it doesn’t fall into the madrigal category.”

“It’s a great experience for them to sing in a small group, and to sing in a group that’s really close, and has to be close,” Sturtevant said. “If you see us (sing) in the community, it’s most likely to be Rhymes with Orange.”

Both Rhymes with Orange and 2 Jazzed Up will perform along with the Charles City jazz bands at Jivin’ with Jazz this year, at 6 p.m. March 27 at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Both groups will also perform with the high school choir department during the Feb. 20 Pops Concert.

High school students will be performing music of the 1970s-80s, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Africa,” “True Colors” and other hits of the decade.

“We don’t ever sing pop music in class, so this is a unique opportunity for the students. It’s also going to be featuring the Charles City High School Chamber Orchestra, and a lot of band students on different instrumental parts,” Sturtevant said.

The concert will also feature some surprise appearances by Charles City High School staff members, he noted. Admission to the concert is $3 for adults and free for students.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the North Grand Auditorium.

“It’s going to be an extravaganza. We’d like to pack the auditorium,” Sturtevant said. “There will not be a dull moment in there.”