Demopolis schools adding choral program

The performing arts offerings of Demopolis High School will expand in the coming academic year with the addition of a choral program.

The program makes its return after having previously been cut during budget adjustments just two years ago.

“The board felt it was important to bring choral back,” Demopolis High principal Dr. Tony Speegle said. “We’ve had some interest in it as far as teachers, so we’re real pleased about that.”

The class schedule for choral courses will work similar to that of the band program in which Demopolis band teacher Matt Fields splits his day between the high school and the middle school.

“Choral kind of does the opposite of band. If Mr. Fields is going to be at the middle school for the first three periods, then the choral person is going to be here in the band room the first three periods. Then they’ll just swap,” Speegle explained.

The board voted last week to post a vacancy for a choral teacher amid other moves.

“The biggest thing right now is nobody signed up for choral so we’re going to have to reach out to the parents and get kids in to sign up for it,” Speegle said.

The choral program joins band and theater classes to round out the performance art offerings of Demopolis High School, bringing full circle a curriculum administrators are hopeful will prove well-rounded.

“It really picks up and compliments our drama and theater department. We’re hoping that whoever we get can also help with marching band and try to build that program up,” Speegle said. “If we get the right person in, we feel like they can work to build both programs.”

While the long-term prospects for program growth have yet to be determined, Speegle explained that school administrators have high hopes for what the choral department could become.

“That’s one of the things that we want to happen. I hope we can grow the program big enough to where the middle school has their own choral person, high school has their own choral person and we’re constantly feeding the theater drama department with quality students that have a background in music, singing and competition,” Speegle said.