Alle-Kiski students come together for 'One Song' concert

Musical theater students from several Alle-Kiski Valley school districts will converge on stage Wednesday to convey unity and hope during the “One Song” Show Choir Festival at Highlands.

Students from the host district, along with those from Freeport Area, Kiski Area and Springdale, will perform.

The concert is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, in the high school auditorium. It is the first show after a two-year pandemic break.

“This event is great because it is many school communities coming together to make music,” said Beth Minda, choral director at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School. “We need things that bring people together and music does that.”

Springdale’s Dynamics Show Choir will perform selections from the 2017 film “The Greatest Showman,” which tells the story of circus founder P.T. Barnum through riveting song and dance numbers.

Each of the participating schools will perform three songs and then come together on stage for a finale of “One Song,” composed by Marvin Hamlisch.

“That song has become a traditional, uplifting musical experience for thousands of students in the Alle-Kiski area over the past 31 years,” Highlands Choir Director Michael Zeiler said. “It is important to keep our traditions alive and honor our past.”

But it’s especially important this year to mark the resilience of schools moving forward after the covid-19 pandemic turned everything upside down, Zeiler said.

“Two years ago our lives were forever altered, and future realities broke in a way no one ever thought possible,” he said. “But for one moment, think of the one unstoppable force that at some point everyone surrounded their lives with — music.

“An event like ‘One Song’ will bring people together and form everlasting connections,” Zeiler said. “It’s more than just a concert, it’s a legacy of musical showmanship.”

The titles of Highlands students’ performances echo the theme of perseverance — “I’m Still Standing,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” and “Faith,” all songs by artists that have been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Freeport Choir Director Tom Koharchik said the event has been a long time coming since the pandemic shut it down. It’s something he looks forward to each year since performing as a student in the late 1990s.

“There is something special about having students from several schools all working together to support each other and promote their groups,” Koharchik said. “Joining hands in ‘One Song’ at the end is a tribute to the hard work, dedication and passion for music-making that all of these students have in common, even though they may come from significantly different backgrounds and schools.”