Until this month, the Butler High School choirs had not competed since 1996, but they proved they weren't rusty.
Both the Concert Choir and the Advanced Ensemble won first place in their categories in the Music in the Parks choral competition in Douglasville, Ga., on May 10.
The choirs also received Best Choir Overall, and a member of the Advanced Ensemble, Brandon Ball, received the Best High School Soloist award.
"I wanted to give the kids the opportunity to see how far they could go with their talents," said director Ladell Fortune, who was in the choir when it last competed. "I tell them that Butler's choirs have a reputation of musical excellence, so this was a way for them to demonstrate that."
Competing against choirs from Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, they knew they were going up against some of the best choirs, but they didn't think much of it until the competition, said Brandon, 18.
"We always seem to come together and do well in our performances, but we had some second thoughts before the competition. It seemed as though things weren't going right, and it wasn't sounding right," he said. "But when we got out there, all of that changed. Everyone just clicked."
After they performed, he said, he was confident that they had won.
Fellow choir member Domaneque McMickel, 17, wasn't as sure.
"I was nervous all day, and even after we performed I was still nervous," she said. "I knew we were good, but I didn't know if we were good enough to place because we didn't get to see the others perform."
All doubt was dispelled when she heard the school's name announced.
"I started crying. I was so happy," she said. "It was emotional."
Mr. Fortune was just as excited as his pupils.
"I was their biggest cheerleader! We jumped up and down. I definitely shared their excitement," he said. "It was just an incredible feeling that I'll never forget."
With the school year over, Mr. Fortune is now looking forward to the next and hopes to enter the choirs in more competitions.
"We are going to work to continue the tradition of musical excellence at Butler and showcase it everywhere we can," he said. "I'm going to challenge them and push them to be their best, and I'm sure, as dedicated as they are, they will step up to the challenge."
The choir's next major performance will be during the Westobou Festival in September.
Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustachronicle.com.
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Cograts to the Butler choirs and Mr. Ladell Fortune. May you always continue your wonderful talents.
Cograts to the Butler choirs and Mr. Ladell Fortune. May you always continue your wonderful talents.
Congrats to the Butler choir for winning the Music in the Parks competition in Six Flags. Did they have to buy tickets to go in the park to perform? Also, Congratulations to Davidson chorale for their performance in Washington DC this year. It was quite an honor to be chosen for that. Again. Davidson's Grammy winning chorale, which performs a variety of music from A-Z, one of the best chorales in the United States, never mind Georgia or Augusta, did not compete in Six Flag's Music in the Parks. I doubt they even heard of that competition. I hope Butler will continue to strive for excellence in music. It is nice to hear something good about Butler for a change.
I wish the AC would do more stories like that. People love to say how rap promotes and glorifies a certain culture. But the media glorifies gangs, and negative things more than anybody. They love to do negative stories as opposed to postive ones such as this.
Congratulations to Mr. Fortune and the Butler HS students. Well deserved recognition! Keep on singing with a passion!
Congrats! Just don't go singing "Plenty good room on the glory train" or "Soonawillbedone." It was beautiful but oh my goodness I heard that for four years straight!LOL Keep it changing Ladell! Ms. Mazyck taught yah well eh?