The Clackamas print., October 11, 2017, Page 4, Image 4

ARTS
4
& C U LTU R E
Are you a Renegade?
FOR THOSE NOT ABLE TO COMMIT TO THE CHAMBER CHOIR, THE RENEGADE GOSPEL MAY BE A BETTER FIT
BY JEANETTE WRIGHT
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
friends, family, anyone that wants to join.”
Altogether, Hollingsw orth plans to
practice with a total of six rehearsals and
perform three or four pieces. Practices begin
Oct. 16, before the first of three concerts on
Sunday, Nov. 5, after All Saints’ Day and
All Souls’ Day.
The community choir is free, and
Hollingsworth plans to sell concert tickets
for $5 or on a “donations are appreciated”
basis. The first concert will be held at the
St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Gladstone
at 6 p.m. “Posters with more information
will be posted on bulletin boards around the
CCC campus,” said Kevin Anspach, CCC
brand manager.
The concert’s theme coincides with All
Saints’ and All Souls’ weekend, presenting
a wide variety of easy-to-learn pieces, from
mournful tunes to rowdy gospel songs and
assorted excerpts from famous requiems.
“All Saints’ All Souls’ is about honoring
the dead,” said Hollingsworth, “and having
some time with the people that have passed
on.”
Hollingsworth has directed choirs for
years, organizing and running the “Playa
Choir,” which has presented at the annual
Burning Man Festival in Nevada for the
past 14 years. She said she hoped to start
a community choir for a long time and to
“You don’t have to be a great singer,” bring the inspirational experience of a big
said Hollingsworth, “just be able to sing in choir “out into the real world.”
When asked why she started the choir
a group and really want to do it.”
now,
Hollingsworth said, “I think back in
Can’t read music? That’s fine. The songs
the
day
there used to be a community choir,
can be taught by ear, and Hollingsworth
hopes the accessibility of the community and I’ve thought about it many times, but I
just don’t have the time.” Hollingsworth’s
choir will encourage more people to join.
“It’d be so great to have more faculty idea for Renegade Gospel came from her
and students that are not part of the music experience at Burning Man. “I felt like I was
department,” said Hollingsworth. “Staff, just preaching to the choir there, and giving
Not everyone can join a chamber choir right
off the bat, and some may require more
experience. That’s where the beauty of a
community choir comes in.
How is the community choir different from
the chamber choir? The community choir is
more casual, meeting two times per week
instead of four, and with an easier-to-learn
repertoire.
Kathleen Hollingsworth, director of
choir at Clackamas Community College,
has wanted to start a community choir for
years but never had the time before this
school year. This year she is starting up a
community choir, the Renegade Gospel, that
is open to faculty, staff and students.
this wonderful Sunday-morning experience
a non-dogmatic, very on-your-feet gospel-
style inspirational but not religious service
to people who have already been through
this huge choir experience, and I was just
kinda like, I gotta do something with this,”
she Hollingsworth.
Hollingsworth plans to continue through
the next term, with a concert on Jan. 14,
2018 titled “Freedom Jazz Dance” as part of
the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. The
set will be smaller— a jazz trio, a couple of
choral numbers and some electronic music as
rehearsals will start at the beginning of the
term, a week before the performance date.
“It’s a really unifying experience,” said
Maria McClish, a CCC student and member
of the chamber choir. “There’s something
really special about singing with other
people.”
So, if the ‘renegade’ in you wants the
choral experience but rebels at the thought of
the time commitment, the Renegade Gospel
choir is perfect.
Photo by Autumn Berend
“ You don’t have to be a
great singer, just be able
to sing in a group and
really want to do it.”
- Kathleen Hollingsworth
Staff raises money for underprivileged stundents
College is expensive and sometimes it
creates a financial burden upon a student
when they get the chance to enroll for pos­
sibly a better life.
More than 300 students walked the cer­
emony stage for graduation in 2017 of the
last school year.
In the crowd, and not as identifiable,
were donors who helped ensure some
of those students who graduated have a
chance at a better life.
Over $600,000 was donated to student
scholarships in 2016.
Donors are contributors that made those
scholarships possible.
From the $600,000, the college awarded
on average more than $1,600 to 200 stu­
dents, helping them to be successful.
— Autumn Berend
Editor-in-Chief
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