Wharton County Junior College Choir member Vasti Coronado of Needville takes her cues from Choir Director Dr. Karl Paoletti during a rehearsal. The WCJC Choir will perform "The Great American Songbook" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Horton Foote Theatre on the Wharton campus.
WHARTON, TEXAS – The Wharton County Junior College Choir will cover a wide variety of musical masterpieces during its upcoming “The Great American Songbook” concert.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Horton Foote Theatre in the Duson-Hansen Fine Arts Building on the Wharton campus, the concert is open to the public and admission is free.
“The Great American Songbook” is a canon of work that encompasses American classics in jazz, Broadway, Hollywood and pop from the 1920s to 1950s. Though some of the music was made popular decades ago, WCJC Choir Director Dr. Karl Paoletti said the songs are still relevant for modern musicians and listeners.
“These standards are still being performed today by artists such as Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett and Michael Bublé,” he said. “This is a chance to hear some of the greatest music ever written.”
The selections cover a wide range of genres and were written by some of the greatest American composers of all time, including George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington.
Paoletti chose this particular body of work as a means of relaying the importance of such music to his students.
“These songs form one of the most special and unique creations of American culture,” he said. “I wanted to teach the students about these masterpieces.”
Special guest performers for the concert will include percussionist Dixie Waldrop and soprano Ronda Paoletti, who will sing “Summertime” from the 1935 opera, “Porgy and Bess.”
###
