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RHHS chorus delivers concert
RHHS CHORUS 1
Chorus Director Jamie Hillen welcomes the audience to the concert. - photo by Photo by Rachael Hartman

The room darkened and stage lights shined on the chorus students as they carefully moved into place and prepared to sing during last Friday’s Richmond Hill High School annual Holiday Concert.
Chorus Director Jamie Hillen welcomed guests and invited everyone to stand as the chorus opened with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They sang 10 songs, including “Amid the Cold of Winter,” “Goin’ to Bethlehem,” “No Golden Carriage,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Silent Night.”
Norma Royals and Damarcus Patterson were the night’s piano accompanists.
Johnny Walker sat on the front row, camera in hand, watching his daughter, senior soprano Megan Walker, sing in one of her last high school performances.
“I’m very proud of her in general, no matter what it is,” he said. “I’ve heard they have one of the best choruses in the area.”  
“It means a whole lot to have my parents here,” Megan Walker, 18, said.
She has sung in a school chorus group since fifth grade and plans to join the chorus in college. Her favorite song of the evening was “Carol of the Bells,” sung by the chorus’ girls and directed by student Christina Smith.
“Anyone who can get in chorus needs to be in,” Megan Walker said. “[Mr. Hillen] is an amazing teacher. He keeps it interesting.”
She said Hillen jokes a lot; he even had the students play kazoos at the concert, during the humorous musical satire “Good King Kong Looked Out.”
Soloists included Mindy Shadoan, Riley Reinhardt and Caroline Adamski, and a descant by Nate Furlong. Other students had speaking parts, which included narration and introduction of songs.
Donovan Nally, 17, a senior, narrated “A Hanukkah Remembrance.” His favorite song of the night was The Promise of Living.
“It’s my first time to sing tenor instead of bass, so it’s out of my comfort zone, but I can do it,” he said. “Mr. Hillen pushes the guys a lot. There are only six guys in the chorus this year. One year, I was the only guy. Mr. Hillen is always trying to get guys to join.”
Nally said he plans to join the chorus in college and may even major in music.
“I want to be a teacher, either chemistry or music. I’d be a singing chemist; I’d make it fun,” said Nally, who’s been singing since he was 2 years old, often in random family karaoke nights.
Nally’s mother, Belinda Montelbano, is the president of the Booster Club, which is raising money to send chorus students to New York City in April. Hillen was invited to bring the students to sing at Carnegie Hall.
“We will sing ‘Lux Aeterna.’ It’s a 27-minute song, 52 pages of music. The entire song is in Latin — every word,” Nally said. “There are five different movements, and the tone changes completely in each movement.”
With the help of the Booster Club, students are raising $2,000 each to go on the trip. Additionally, they want to purchase tux jackets for the boys.
“We have about $800 per student raised so far,” Montelbano said. “We’ve done a lot of bake sales in the past, which mainly brings in money from the parents. We are trying to get out in the community more.”
The club’s major fundraiser, Richmond Hill’s Got Talent, is in February. The event will include a talent competition for students and adults, as well as a silent auction and bake sale. The club is also asking businesses to sponsor students.

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Groups hand out scholarships
RH theater scholarship
Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer shows her Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. With her are Tom Harris, Ashlee Farris, Brett Berry and Kim Diebold. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016. - photo by Photo provided.

Three reports recently presented scholarships

Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer received the Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016.

Garden Club

The Richmond Hill Garden Club recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Katherine Wood and a $500 scholarship to Carly Vargas, both seniors graduating from Richmond Hill High School.

The awards were presented May 8 during Honors Night at RHHS.

Wood plans to attend Green Mountain College in Vermont and major in environmental studies.

Vargas plans to attend Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, to pursue a degree in either environmental studies or biology.

The garden club awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to a local high school senior who plans to major in a field related to environmental concerns, plants and/or gardening.

This year, due to having two exceptional candidates, the garden club awarded an additional $500 scholarship.

Exchange Club

The Exchange Club of Richmond Hill recently named Caroline Odom as its student of the year.

The club each month during the school year names a student of the month, and the student of the year is chosen from among those winners.

Awards are based on academic performance, community involvement and leadership.

Monthly winners receive $100, with the annual winner getting a $1,000 scholarship.

The Exchange Club has been recognizing students for more than 30 years.

Odom will go on to compete in the Georgia District Exchange Club against students from across the state.

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