Dave & Kim Matthews
We attended the Butler Vocal Music concert last Saturday night. As they were sold out as usual, we were lucky to snag three tickets of folks not making it. We encourage you to attend one or more of their concerts, but we have to order tickets on line well in advance of the shows. Butler has a tremendous music program. Valerie Lippoldt Mack brings us a slice of Broadway by her directing the singing, dancing and choreography. She has been at Butler for 29 years, and she could have been on Broadway but chose Butler.
The Vocal Music program, of which she heads, has tremendous conductors for the various choirs. Since Valerie has been there some 3,000 students have gone through the choral music program. Currently 120 students participate each year. Their singing, dancing, costumes and choreography put them in the top class of any organization in the country. Valerie Lippoldt Mack is the driving force in that.
We have wondered for so long why Butler and the El Dorado community have not come together to build their program a bigger facility. They could easily fill 1,000 seats for their concerts. In the past they have done four shows, but it is just too many for all the work it takes, so this time they went to two shows. The community supported the Butler football program, which we also support but with all of the many more students participating in the music program, why have they not been supported with a larger facility?
Their graduates perform on cruise ships and on Broadway, teach and direct church choirs and community choirs. They have studios which teach voice, dance and choreography all over the country. They have a base of students and graduates who would support them in a larger facility.
One choir that just started in 2012 is the SmorgasChorus, coming out of the barbershop quarter, the Smorgaschords, which Valerie started in the early 1990s. The chorus sang two tremendous numbers and was excellent. They won in 2012, their first year, 2013 and 2015 the top chorus in the Central States Region. They are also rated as 16th in the world now. All ages are included in the choir.
This does not include all of the other fine instrumental instructors and students who add to the environment of Butler. We compliment Valerie and the other directors and the students for a star studded performance. Thank you. We hope the future holds a larger facility for your performances.
