A class full of song

Deirdre Newman

The glorious sound of “hallelujah” reverberated through the campus

of Ensign Intermediate School last week.

No, it wasn’t the elation of students who had just taken a test.

It was a rehearsal of the Madrigals music performance class for its

upcoming holiday performances.

Madrigals, an advanced, audition-only class for seventh- and

eighth-graders, mostly focuses on 17th-century music, but branches

out to Renaissance sounds for the holidays, teacher Donna Kelsen

said.

In addition to practicing for the December performances, class

members are also honing their vocal chords to be part of the National

Junior High School Choir in New York City next April. Twenty-three

Ensign students will be among 250 of the nation’s finest singers in

the choir. This is the fourth year students from the Newport Beach

school have been selected. Last year, they opted not to attend

because of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

“[Being selected] says that our students work really hard and it’s

our passion,” Kelsen said.

In the yearlong Madrigals class, students work on skills like

intonation, tone quality, breathing techniques and diction to enhance

their performances.

Kelsen plays piano accompaniment while teaching and relates to her

students in a fun, down-to-earth manner as she encourages them to

give the songs their all.

“We will crescendo and decrescendo like the tide going in and out,

so it will sound totally cool,” Kelsen said as the Madrigals

practiced a song on Friday.

While the students are a little bit stiff when they first come to

class and start their vocal exercises, by the end of the class their

inhibitions have been disposed of like yesterday’s fashions. The

boys, some of whom were originally singing with their hands in their

pockets, swayed back and forth, shaking and shimmying to the beat.

When they realized how good they sounded, the class burst into

laughter.

Kelsen, who also works with students at Newport Harbor High

School, said she treats the Ensign students as if they were in high

school.

“I don’t treat these kids any differently than high school kids,”

Kelsen said. “They have to come up to a standard and they do.”

For the New York performance at Lincoln Music Center, the students

are learning music written by guest conductor Sally Albrecht. In

addition to performing, the students will get the opportunity to meet

other talented singers from throughout the country, Kelsen said.

Laura Clayton, 13, said one of the reasons she joined Madrigals

was the chance to sing in New York.

“I wanted to [be in the class] because tons of my friends are in

here and I knew they were planning on going to New York and I’m

excited because I’ve never been there before,” Laura said.

Laura, who sings second soprano, said Kelsen’s entertaining

teaching style makes the class enjoyable.

“She’s awesome,” Laura said. “She makes it so much fun. I love how

she can make a little mistake and then makes funny faces.”

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Deirdre Newman visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about her experience.