By Andy Diffenderfer
Correspondent
The powerful voices of Haleigh Eller, Jocellyn Davis, Brittani Farmer and Chelsea Green thunder through the Ridgeland High School auditorium as the four audition for the school’s “Beauty and the Beast” production.
The show, set for May, is the latest for Ridgeland’s choral program under the guidance of director Anthony Goss.
Mr. Goss, formerly director for the accomplished Rossville Middle School chorus, has seen his student numbers rise from about 50 to about 80 in his four years heading Ridgeland’s choral activities.
The key, he said, is simply getting kids to walk through his door and be enthusiastic about doing their best.
“I’m trying to find a way to get these kids excited in chorus early on,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities for the kids, but there are a lot of long hours and a lot of work. I want to know if they have the desire.”
Choral offerings include five choirs: the Panther Chorus, the Ridgeland Sinfonia, the Ridgeland Chorale, the Ridgeland Jazz Choir and the Ridgeland Show Choir.
In the last three years, Ridgeland choirs have earned awards and superior ratings at festivals in New York City and Orlando, Fla., and at large-group performance evaluations for the Georgia Music Educators Association.
The honors, Mr. Goss said, “are a reflection of the quality of the program. Students take pride in the way we sound.”
Miss Farmer, a junior, said she enjoys the challenge of the music, “and I like that we do plays and musicals.”
Ridgeland students under Mr. Goss’ tutelage have performed shows such as “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “Grease,” “Into the Woods,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
For “Willy Wonka” performed last fall, performers teamed with students in grades kindergarten through eighth from the elementary and middle schools that feed into Ridgeland. Mr. Goss wants to put on similar combined fall shows in the future.
“I like how Mr. Goss is really dedicated to what he does,” said Miss Green, a junior who switched over from band and played Violet in “Willy Wonka.”
Outside of the cast, productions get other Ridgeland students involved, Mr. Goss said. Art department students paint sets, construction classes help build them and the band provides an orchestra.
Originally from Piedmont, Ala., Mr. Goss received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga in 1993 and his master’s from Indiana University in 2000.
“He’s not just a teacher, he’s a mentor,” said Miss Davis, a senior who is pondering a music or vocal performance major in college.
Andy Diffenderfer is based in LaFayette, Ga. Contact him at andydiff97@comcast.net.