Ronan High School choir performs on PBS
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RONAN — Last week, the Ronan High School Choir had their performance aired on Montana PBS.
An opportunity presented to Ronan students in years past, Celebrate America is a national program designed to give “life-enhancing” opportunity to the country’s youth by showcasing their choirs on public television. Founder Tim Janis was the one who reached out to ask if the students would like to sing on air once again. RHS choir teacher Brenna Hyvonen presented the offer to her students, and they began their months-long preparation to sing on TV.
In order to be copywrite-conscious for their airtime, the group had to select a song that was either in the public domain or had the approval of the composer. They ended up selecting “Prayer of the Children” by Kurt Bestor, who had given his approval for public use of the song before.
“It was a difficult song, so I knew we had to take it in small chunks here and there for a few months,” Hyvonen said. “It was a joy to learn.”
“At first, honestly, I didn’t care for it,” RHS choir soloist Jesse Richey commented. “But the more and more we worked with it and the more we got the pitches and the rhythms down… it’s a beautiful song.”
“I fell in love with it over time,” choir class senior Aly Mock agreed. “It was a very emotional song.”
All grades and levels of the Ronan High School choir combined to make the song possible, and ultimately 14 students were able to make the trip. Hyvonen mentioned that the last couple of years have been challenging for the choir, between illnesses and students moving. The small group that was able to attend pulled off a powerful sound.
Once the group arrived in Bozeman for their performance, Hyvonen said it was an adrenaline-fueled experience. The students stopped at MSU for a workshop with the choral department for feedback and advice from the professors. Then they were off to the PBS recording studio. They got dressed, entered the green room, warmed up and were prepped by stagehands. The studio recorded two takes of their song and chose the best one to air. Now, a month later, students have finally been able to see themselves sing on screen.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking to start out with, but once we got into it, they really made it easier to do. They were just happy that we were there, and it felt awesome,” Richey stated. “I think there should definitely be more programs and opportunities like this for the kids in our community.”
“The people there were so nice, and they made you feel more confident when going to perform on TV. Just being there with the choir itself felt amazing. It felt like one big family doing something together,” Mock said.
The RHS choir received a lot of community support for their broadcast. The school awarded funds through an “I-Graduate” grant to cover transportation, meals and hotel rooms. Hyvonen said a beader in the community, Kimberly Barber, upgraded the students’ stoles for their performance with beautiful orange, black, and white beadwork.
“I work at the Boys and Girls Club in Ronan, and I even had some of the kids come up to me and say, ‘We saw you on TV!’ They just thought it was amazing. Even parents were saying it was great and they loved our performance and the song that we chose,” Mock recalled.
“A lot more people watched than I thought would have,” Richey commented. “It’s definitely good. I was not expecting that part of the community to be that big and it definitely blew me out of the water.”
“I’m really happy with their performance, and I’ve been getting tons of good feedback from the community and all over the state from people who watched it,” Hyvonen commented. “I don’t think people realize how busy these kids are. I’m just beyond proud of my students. They continually astound me with their hard work and talent.”
The students began practicing for their performance back in November, balancing it with their Christmas concert and other festivals. Since COVID restrictions have let up, the RHS choirs have performed in numerous festivals throughout the state, all on top of their regularly scheduled concerts for the school year.
The RHS choir will perform at the District Music Festival in Kalispell in early April with a variety of solos, duets, and small and large ensembles. They will be holding a concert to prepare on March 24.
“They’ve learned so much new music this year,” Hyvonen said. “These kids do all sorts of activities, not just choir, and I’m proud of them for juggling all their extra curriculars and doing such a great job at all of them.”
