BY DR. CARL MAULTBY, GUEST WRITER TO THE TIMES
ORLANDO – The Classic Choir Concert (CCC) returns to Jones High School (JHS), Thursday, November 21, 2024, 7 PM, James “Chief” Wilson Auditorium, 801 S. Rio Grande Avenue, Orlando, FL 32805. The concert features performances by Bethune-Cookman Concert Chorale, Evans High School Concert Choir, Oak Ridge School Pioneer Chorus and the event host, the Jones High School Concert Choir (JHSCC) under the direction of Mr. Tarin Davies.
CCC began in November 1982 by the then JHSCC Director, Mrs. Andrea Green, as a spin-off of The Florida Classic between Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Bethune Cookman University (BCU) football teams. She viewed it as an opportunity “to expose the community to great choral music by OCPS [Orange County Public Schools] middle, and high school choral programs as well as the HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] choral music programs of FAMU and BCU.” In addition, the concert serves as a recruitment tool for the University Choirs. The result is often scholarships to the CCC participating high school students looking forward to continuing their music education at the college level.
With the exception of the years 2020 and 2023 due, respectively, to COVID and the transition brought about by the retirement of Mrs. Green, CCC is an annual event. According to the current JHSCC Director of Choirs, Tarin Davies, “Many alumni and students look forward to this event. I’m pleased to restore this concert tradition. It is a time of fellowship, unity, and harmony in our beloved community.” Formed in 1922, the Jones High School Concert Choir is the oldest cultural institution in the City of Orlando.
Tickets for the 11th Annual concert are $10 and are sold online at teachtix.com/joneshs/the-2024-classic-choir concert. For more information, call 407.835.2300.
