BRATTLEBORO — February's Gallery Walk will include an a cappella concert to benefit In-Sight Photography. Taking the stage on Friday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m., six regional high school groups will give a concert at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center in anticipation of Saturday's collegiate event at the Latchis.
The High School A Cappella Concert has received rave reviews in the past, and all proceeds support the In-Sight Photography Project.
The line-up for Friday evening includes two high school ensembles - the BUHS Madrigals and the Leland & Gray Rebel Clefs - and four student-directed independent groups from the Brattleboro area - Renegade, Shoulder Narrows, Xpressivo, and Spiralia.
General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are available at the door on a first-come first-served basis. Seating is limited, with some standing room available.
An all-girls, student-run group, Renegade has members hailing from multiple high schools in the area, from Bellows Falls to Putney to Keene. They've been singing together since 2009.
Shoulder Narrows is an all-male group from Brattleboro founded in 2004. All members are high school age singers. Shoulder Narrows uses a combination of vocal bass, beatboxing, throat singing, and a large variety of syllables to emulate real instruments.
Xpressivo is a coed group started in 2012 at BUHS.
Spiralia is one of the two all-girl a cappella groups at Brattleboro Union High School. They've been around since 2007, and they sing everything from Billy Joel to Regina Spektor to Meghan Trainor.
The BUHS Madrigals is a group of auditioned singers that rehearses weekly at Brattleboro Union High School under the direction of chorus teacher Patty Meyer. Students earn credit for this class and perform in a variety of venues, including school concerts, madrigal festivals, school assemblies, and town events.
The Madrigals perform songs from many styles, including but not limited to madrigals from the Renaissance, from which they took their name.
Leland & Gray's Rebel Clefs is an auditioned singing group that meets weekly after school during the school year. Directed by music teacher Ron Kelley, they sing a wide variety of music, from 16th century madrigals to contemporary style a cappella.
The group performs in Leland & Gray concerts as well as in other venues in the community.
“This concert is about high school kids raising money to help other high school kids,” said producer Dede Cummings, founder of the annual Friday evening event, in a news release.
“Most of In-Sight's students rely on some level of scholarship support, and In-Sight boldly offers a 100 percent guarantee of scholarship funding so that no one who wants to take a photography class is ever turned away for lack of ability to pay,” according to In-Sight Executive Director Teta Hilsdon.
In-Sight offers students a creative voice and outlet, opportunities to experience success, tools for self-awareness and self-worth, and encouragement to become actively engaged in their communities. In-Sight teaches photography to youth ages 11-18 throughout the southeastern Vermont region.
Students may sign up for spring classes, which start the third week of February, at www.insightphotography.org. Applications for In-Sight's Exposures Cross-Cultural Youth Arts Summer Program are available at www.exposuresprogram.org for young people ages 15-21. To contact In-Sight staff, call 802-251-9960 or email [email protected].