Rotary program brings down the house

As the house lights dimmed last Sunday evening, the enchanting voices of Sisters High School choir members rang out: "Silent Night, Holy Night. All is Calm, All is bright...." The audience listened in darkness as the students set the stage for the 11th annual Magical Voices of Christmas concert.

When they were finished, the spotlight came up on this year's Mistress of Ceremonies Elaine Drakulich, superintendent of Sisters schools and a Rotarian herself, who greeted concert goers to an evening of sharing with family and friends.

Each year the Sisters Rotary Club sponsors the concert and all of the festivities that accompany it as a thank you to the community. Students from Sisters schools, as well as numerous community members, come together to make the event a reality.

"All the (Sisters school) choirs are participating, and then there's a dance group from Bend and Peggy Tehan and another adult group that Brian Cash is doing," said this year's Magical Voices chairman Rotarian Jeff Wester.

"It's an evening to help celebrate the holiday season and give people an opportunity to come together," said Rotarian Kathy Johnson, this year's refreshment chairman.

The event especially gives students an opportunity to show off their talents.

"I don't know how many participate, but it's huge. It gets larger every year. The first few years we didn't have that many children in it. It was barbershopers, and sometimes it was opera," said Johnson. "Since then it has just really evolved to include the students."

And the audience loves them. This year Sisters Elementary Choir's special rendition of "Boogie Woogie Holiday," complete with a guest performance by Elvis Presley, brought the house down. A hip-hop dance routine by students from Bend's Vibe Dance Center received a rousing round of applause. As always, the quality and professionalism of the performances of the Sisters High School jazz and concert choirs, under the direction of Tara MacSween, were lauded with hearty appreciation.

Although admission to the concert is free, the Rotary club sells advertising in the program it distributes the night of the performance. According to Wester, this year the club raised $3,300 through the sale of ads for the program.

"The money that is raised from the program goes back to the schools," he said, noting that at the end of Sunday's program Drakulich presented $1,000 on behalf of the Rotary Club to the music programs at each of Sisters three schools.

Santa, as always, greeted children of all ages and kept a close watch to see who "was naughty and nice."

During the after-concert social hour, Christmas music was provided by the jazz quintet of Sisters High School Band Director Jody Henderson on trumpet, junior Wesley Ford on piano, senior Riley Gilmore on saxophone, junior Jared Henderson on bass and freshman Tanner Smith on drums.

As he gazed at the large crowd who had gathered for the evening of music and camaraderie, Wester said: "It's bigger than ever. It used to be only a couple hundred people."