Patrick Burzlaff - Centennial High School

At our last concert, I wanted to feature more Eastern music, so I challenged myself by programing an Arabic piece and a Polynesian piece among others. The Arabic Piece, El Helwa-Di, was daunting because it has multiple stanzas in Arabic. I contacted a former student who is Egyptian and fluent in that particular dialect of Arabic to help us with the text by making audio recordings of the pronunciation.

For the Hawaiian piece, a manuscript of Opae E by local composer Ron Kean, I was thrilled to collaborate with Dr. Kean and have one of my good friends who is a Polynesian dance instructor choreograph an authentic hula to accompany the piece. It was a ton of work and required some homework for the students, but it was worth the extra effort. Both pieces came together nicely and were clear highlights at our concert. It was a reminder that collaboration with other locals who are experts in their field can heighten performances and inspire excellence in the student's overall choral experience. My new fun contribution to the community is that my wife, Paige, and I currently lead the Beer Choir chapter in Bakersfield. We hold it once a month at a local brewery and sing through 'The Beer Hymnal' while enjoying some fine local brew. Great time!