Wednesday, February 03, 2010

PRCC hosts showchoir contest in Hattiesburg

    The Mississippi Showchoir Contest, sponsored by Pearl River Community College, will be held Friday and Saturday at William Carey University in Hattiesburg.
    Thirteen middle school showchoirs will compete Friday, starting at 3:30 p.m., with awards to be presented at 11 p.m. All performances will be in the Thomas Fine Arts Center.
    Middle schools participating are Baxterville, Purvis, Dixie in Forrest County, South Forrest, Pearl River Central, N.R. Burger in Hattiesburg, Petal, Clinton, West Jones, Northeast Jones, South Jones, Columbia Academy and Jackson Prep.
    Fourteen high school showchoirs and three women’s groups begin competition at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Preliminary awards will be announced at 7 p.m. with final performances by three soloists and five showchoirs beginning at 7:55 p.m. Awards will be presented at 10:45 p.m. Saturday.
    High school showchoirs competing are Stone, Sumrall, Wayne County, Franklinton, La., Pearl River Central, Forrest County Agricultural High School, Hattiesburg, Oak Grove, Columbia Academy, Pascagoula, Jackson Prep, Clinton, West Jones and Northeast Jones. The three women’s showchoirs are from Brookwood, Ala., Northwest Rankin and West Jones.
    The Voices, PRCC’s vocal jazz ensemble, will perform at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, PRCC’s showchoir, RiverRoad, will present an exhibition performance at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
    Judges are choreographer Katie DiCicco of Dallas, John Flanery, assistant choral director at the University of Southern Mississippi; Dr. Mark Malone, dean of Winters School of Music at Carey; and Broadway performer Timothy Shew.
    Dr. Jonathan Kilgore of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College will judge the soloists in preliminary competition. All of the judges will judge the solo finals.
    PRCC started the Mississippi Showchoir Contest in 1987 and hosted it in Poplarville until Hurricane Katrina in 2005 destroyed the performance venues. The contest was held in Petal in 2006.
    After a two-year break, PRCC revived the contest last year with the cooperation of William Carey University.
    Admission is $6 on Friday; $6 for the preliminary competition on Saturday and $6 for the final competition or $10 for both.
    Pearl River Community College offers equal education and employment opportunities. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or disability. For inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies or to request accommodations, special assistance, or alternate format publication, please contact Tonia Moody, ADA/Civil Rights Coordinator, at P.O. Box 5118, Poplarville, MS 39470 or 601 403-1060.