Originally published in the March 22 issue of The Mountain-Ear.

Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.

Just as sprouts of dandelions, daffodils and tulips decide when it’s time to appear, the voices of Nederland Middle Senior High School choir students burst the spring night air to entertain the mountain community.

Wednesday’s choir concert ended with a snap, crackle and pop, as Sasha Godsil brought the audience to their feet with her version of “My Shot” from the musical “Hamilton.” Although others added their solo voices to the Ned rendition of the rap-based hit which emphasizes a hint of hope, Godsil grabs the show and shakes it out all over the audience, leaving them to return home feeling like something extraordinary had just happened.

The entire evening was well-performed with boisterous support from fellow students and choir members.

The show opened with a choral medley from “Into the Woods”, which was choreographed by the choral students. Throughout the concert the Loaquations presented their custom arranged pieces that they all had a piece in. Their accompaniment to “My Shot” by Godsil, brought out the precision, the spacing punctuation with the beat, that finally exploded to its final clear tones.

The youngsters of the group, the sixth-grade choir, had their first time on the NMSHS stage and for brief shining moments, the kids had a taste of what it was like to be a star. To see their words fly out into the auditorium to be picked up by their proud groupies.

A combination of sixth, seventh and eighth graders presented songs from “Grease”, the smash hit Broadway Musical that made the old timers in the audience sing-a-long and made the performers wonder who the heck John Travolta was.

The concert was a boost for the spirits, but the theater goers were already in a good mood because of the talent show presentation that came right after the savory spaghetti dinner served up with a gorgeous frosted cake dessert.