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Event benefits

music programs

By DEBBIE HEMENWAY
Staff writer
Perhaps best described as “Glee meets The Sing-Off,” this year’s annual fundraiser for music in Winters schools will feature an evening of “singing, dancing and vocal excitement,” says music teacher Lynne Secrist.
The official title of the benefit is “A Grand Night of Singing,” and the Community Center will be filled with voices from the schools, the community and beyond on Friday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Representing the Winters schools will be choral groups from Shirley Rominger and Winters Middle Schools, under Secrist’s direction, and Winters High School, led by teacher Tania Mannion.
“I’m really excited about my group,” says Mannion, “and they’re excited too. We have some really talented soloists.”
Octapella, an adult vocal group that meets in Winters weekly, will add their “love of singing” to the mix.
In what promises to be the highlight of the evening, four groups from UC Davis have volunteered their time to round out the program. Fresh off a major competition at the university, they will be “at their best,” says Secrist. Mannion describes the Davis groups as “awesome.”
They include “The Spokes,” an all women’s group; the all male “Afterglow”; and “One Note Stand” and “The Liquid Hotplates,” two mixed groups.
For those who would like a preview of what is in store, all four of the Davis groups can be seen on YouTube.
Secrist sees a double benefit from the event. Not only will much-needed funds be generated for the district’s music program, but students will also see the joy that others get from “singing throughout their lives.”
“A Grand Night of Singing” is sponsored by the Winters Music Booster organization. The Boosters raise and distribute monies for music instruction and performance at school sites throughout the year. Their budget for the current school year is nearly $9,000, and the spring fundraiser is their largest single source of funds, all of which are used to subsidize operating costs: sheet music, instrument purchases and repairs, and a high school scholarship fund.
At Shirley Rominger Intermediate School, Secrist instructs all students in general music, and at the middle school, she has both band and choral classes. Winters High School students can take classes in band, choir, guitar and foundations of music.
Tickets for the evening are available at Rominger, WMS and WHS and at Pacific Ace Hardware on Main Street. The cost is $12 for adults and $8 for children under 12.
“If you love music, you will love this event,” Secrist promises.