All-Star high school concert March 15 at Coronado

From press release

Former Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO) Conductor Alison Gaines is one of three guest conductors who will lead nearly 200 orchestra, band and choral students in celebrating “The Magic Behind the Movies.”

Joining Gaines will be Sandra Cain, who recently retired as the choral and drama teacher at Machesney Park Harlem High School, and Jeff Suarez, assistant professor of music at the University of Wisconsin-Rock County.

The concert takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, March 15, at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5 in advance at any of five participating high schools—Auburn, East, Guilford, Jefferson and Roosevelt—or $7 at the Coronado door.

The All-Star concert, formerly known as the All-City Music Festival, brings together the best music students from five Rockford high schools for an intensive daylong workshop, which culminates in the evening performance. Students in each of the three music disciplines rehearse separately with each conductor during the day, then unite on stage for a public concert.

“The students participating in the All-Star concert are quite talented and can deliver a first-rate performance after only rehearsing for a day with a guest conductor,” Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator Kathryn Engel-Terasaki said. “This year, their performances offer something for music fans of all ages with a wide range of magical favorites from the silver screen.”

Gaines, who conducted the RSYO for five seasons, will lead orchestra students in cinematic favorites such as “Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess and “Music From a Found Harmonium” from Napoleon Dynamite. Cain will lead choral students in diverse arrangements ranging from the Nightmare Before Christmas title song to “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca. Suarez will lead band students in blockbuster favorite themes ranging from The Pirates of the Caribbean to The Incredibles.

The grand finale will feature the combined talents of the orchestra, band and chorale students performing “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt.