Page 10 — Thursday, April 1, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Hastings choirs perform for virtual festival, and younger students
Sophie Bates
Staff Writer
The Hastings eighth grade choir and four
high school choirs dressed in concert attire
Wednesday, March 24, graced the stage of the
Hastings Performing Arts Center and
performed — not for a large audience or panel
of judges — but for the blinking red light of a
video camera.
The performances, consisting of two
songs for each choir — eighth grade choir,
Beginning Women’s Ensemble, Men’s Glee,
Select Women’s Ensemble and the Varsity
Singers — will be submitted to the Michigan
School Vocal Music Association Virtual
Choral Festival.
“Each of the five choirs that I direct
recorded two songs, representing a wide
variety of styles and three languages,”
Hastings High School Choral Director
Andrew Moore said. ‘The students wore their
uniforms and carried themselves as they
would for the actual festival. The only
differences were that they did not travel to a
different school or have an in-person
adjudicator who worked with them. Instead,
the adjudicator’s comments will come to us
by early May.”
Once the recordings are submitted to the
festival, judges, otherwise known as clinicians
or music professionals, will review videos of
the performances and respond with comments
to each choir on the quality of the performance
and how they can improve.
Prior to the pandemic, the choirs would
attend a District Choral Festival each March
where they have the opportunity to interact
with a clinician one-on-one. The clinicians
listen to students perform and then work with
them on rhythm, pitch, pronunciation, the
emotion of a song and more.
While no longer an in-person experience,
Moore said clinician comments are invaluable
for his students — particularly since they
have not had a chance to perform and receive
critique since the pandemic began.
More than anything, Moore’s students are
glad to have the opportunity to perform, even
if only for a virtual audience.
“It’s bittersweet because we know that it’s
not what we’d like it to be, but we’re very
thankful — that’s been the theme from all the
students,” said Moore, a 2010 Hastings
graduate who returned in August 2019 to
become choir director. “It’s just that they’re
grateful to be able to do any of it. And it does
remind us of how much we enjoy it, how
much we enjoy performance. The purpose of
what we do is to study music and hone our
craft, so that we can share it with our audience.
And it’s hard. It’s hard when your audience
isn’t really there. But, like I said, it’s gratifying
that we can finally, actually get up on stage
and sing as a choir.”
Moore’s students are particularly excited
to perform because normally they would have
had several concerts already this year — all
which have been canceled due to the
pandemic.
“Each choir, by minimum, at this point in
the year has sung three formal concerts in
front of an audience, and groups like Varsity
Singers would have sung six or seven —
depends on the year, of course,” Moore said.
“We have had a hard time with that because
we just have not been able to sing in front of
a live audience. And even within the schools,
we can’t really sing for the student body
because we aren’t able to have really large
gatherings — they’re pretty much avoiding
assemblies. So, our kids have been, like I said,
just isolated. So, it’s been a tremendously
difficult year.”
In addition to isolation from an audience,
Moore said his students feel isolated from
each other due to Michigan School Vocal
Music Association COVID-19 guidelines
which state choirs should limit singing to 30
minutes at any one time, keep singers 6 feet or
more apart and wear masks.
This posed challenges for Moore and his
choir students.
First, being limited to 30 minutes of
choral practice is not ideal. They also can no
longer have small groups of students rehearse
their choral parts in practice rooms, because
the rooms are too small to comply with social
distancing guidelines.
Additionally, the 6-foot spacing between
each singer makes it difficult for the singers tohear each other.
“Choir singers — especially younger
signers — they definitely don’t want that
much space between them,” Moore said.
“That’s one of the observations that’s made
consistently by my younger choirs. It’s just
that we feel so far apart.”
Older students, even though they have
more independence when it comes to singing,
he said, don’t like being that far apart from
one another.
“It’s hard from them to reinforce the pitch
in their ear,” he said.
To help with this isolation, Moore hopes
to bring clinicians into school to critique and
work with his students.
“Obviously, we’re at a disadvantage with
the virtual format because they won’t get that
live interaction, he said. “But, it’s good giving
[students] a chance to work with someone
primarily, as I always say, someone who is not
me — getting to hear another voice.”
Moore also has coordinated with Faith
Byykkonen, the sixth- and seventh-grade
choral director, to create opportunities for the
school choirs to interact with one another,
while socially distanced.
Moore served as a clinician for the sixth-
and seventh-grade choirs, listening to their
performances in the performing arts center.
Hearing the perspective of another music
professional, Moore said, can help reinforce
what Byykkonen already has taught her
students.
“It gave them a chance to hear, from myperspective. I said things that Mrs. Byykkonen
has probably already been saying as an
educator. But sometimes we need to hear it
from more than one source,” he said. “And so,
I had a chance to step up and work with the
sixth- and seventh-graders on things that I
was hearing and give them some immediate
feedback, talking to them about the things that
I loved about their performance.”
Additionally, Moore and Byykkonen
coordinated a Sing-and-Share event March
10, which began with an eighth-grade choir
rehearsal at the PAC.
Four high school choir students attended
the eighth-grade choir’s rehearsal and spoke
with the eighth-graders about high school
choir in a short question-and-answer session.
Then the Varsity Singers went to the PAC
and performed “Keep Your Lamps” and
“Earth Song” for the sixth- and seventh-grade
choirs.
Afterward, the middle school choirstudents asked questions of the Varsity
Singers.
“Even more exciting than the performance
was the conversation between the vocally
experienced juniors and seniors on the stage
and the young and excited sixth- and seventh-
graders in the seats,” Moore said. “The sixth-
and seventh-graders had good questions like
‘How long have you been singing?’ and ‘Was
it difficult to get into Varsity Singers?’ and
said some wonderful compliments like, ‘You
guys are amazing!’ and ‘Can I hire you to sing
for me?’ I asked the juniors and seniors to
raise their hands if, when they were in the
sixth- and seventh-graders place, they doubted
their own ability to be in Varsity Singers.
Every hand went up. The middle school
students were surprised, to be sure.
“That’s what Faith Byykkonen and I want:
a chance to allow those young middle school
students to see what they can be with
dedication and effort.”legals
BARRY COUNTY DRAIN COMMISSIONER
NOTICE OF FILING AN ORDER LAYING OUT
AND DESIGNATING A DRAINAGE DISTRICT
GARBOW DRAIN
Notice is Hereby Given, that I, Jim Dull, Barry County Drain Commissioner, filed an Order Laying Out and Designat-
ing a Drainage District, dated April 7, 2020, for the Garbow Drain, according to Chapter 3 of Public Act 40 of 1956, as
amended.The route and course of the proposed Drain is described as follows:BEGINNING AT A POINT 332.82 FEET NORTH AND 331.16 FEET WEST, MORE OR LESS, OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER
OF SECTION 11, TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN;
THENCE SOUTH 89° 11' 49" EAST 333.38 FEET TO THE EAST LINE OF SECTION 11 AT A POINT 332.79 FEET NORTH,
MORE OR LESS, OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SAID SECTION; THENCE SOUTH 59° 09' 11" EAST 258.36 FEET INTO
SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN; THENCE
SOUTH 19° 35' 02" EAST 213.57 FEET TO THE SOUTH LINE OF SAID SECTION AT A POINT 295.06 FEET EAST, MORE OR
LESS OF THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SAID SECTION; THENCE CONTINUING SOUTH 19° 35' 02" EAST 119.76 FEET
INTO SECTION 13, TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN TO
A POINT 112.71 FEET SOUTH AND 336.76 FEET EAST, MORE OR LESS, OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID SEC-
TION AND THE POINT OF ENDING.THE TOTAL LENGTH OF THE GARBOW DRAIN IS 925.06 FEET (0.17 MILES). THE DRAIN SHALL CONSIST OF 590 FEET
OF OPEN CHANNEL, 335 FEET OF ENCLOSED DRAIN WHICH INCLUDES A PUMP STATION, AND AN INFILTRATION
BASIN.The lands comprised within the Drainage District are described as follows:BEGINNING AT A POINT 887.16 FEET, MORE OR LESS, NORTH OF THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SECTION 12, TOWN-
SHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN; THENCE SOUTH 82° 53' 48"
EAST 207.99 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 56° 39' 56" EAST 537.83 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 80° 29' 38" EAST 111.88 FEET;
THENCE SOUTH 89° 55' 32" EAST 314.94 FEET; THENCE NORTH 55° 24' 18" EAST 96.03 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 88° 10'
14" EAST 154.18 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 87° 54' 53" EAST 131.93 FEET; THENCE NORTH 48° 08' 55" EAST 91.97 FEET;
THENCE NORTH 89° 30' 37" EAST 269.07 FEET; THENCE NORTH 62° 45' 02" EAST 558.98 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 42° 35'
03" EAST 562.97 FEET; THENCE NORTH 65° 50' 41" EAST 582.75 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 51° 25' 32" EAST 184.17 FEET;
THENCE SOUTH 03° 48' 34" WEST 129.43 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 03° 53' 09" EAST 156.60 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 19° 08'
52" EAST 162.76 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 17° 36' 13" EAST 127.09 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 01° 25' 51" WEST 74.05 FEET,
MORE OR LESS, TO THE SOUTH LINE OF SAID SECTION AT A POINT 1,812 FEET, MORE OR LESS, WEST OF THE
SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SAID SECTION; THENCE WESTERLY ALONG THE SOUTH LINE OF SAID SECTION 166.30 FEET;
THENCE SOUTH 00° 58' 00" WEST 432.84 FEET INTO SECTION 13, TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAP-
PLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN; THENCE SOUTH 89° 08' 41" EAST 22.23 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 00° 00'
00" EAST 478.54 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 58° 17' 49" EAST 325.52 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 00° 30' 15" WEST 330.47 FEET;
THENCE NORTH 72° 51' 37" WEST 111.32 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 63° 58' 48" WEST 394.99 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 24°
19' 38" WEST 261.41 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 05° 39' 46" EAST 209.86 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 60° 46' 00" WEST 642.
FEET; THENCE NORTH 81° 56' 53" WEST 306.61 FEET; THENCE NORTH 19° 53' 56" WEST 136.38 FEET; THENCE NORTH
72° 21' 31" WEST 154.21 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 16° 43' 30" WEST 243.25 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 58° 21' 53" WEST 226.
FEET; THENCE SOUTH 81° 28' 00" WEST 317.40 FEET; THENCE NORTH 06° 04' 26" WEST 171.00 FEET; THENCE NORTH
75° 09' 45" WEST 312.92 FEET; THENCE NORTH 20° 48' 55" EAST 271.64 FEET; THENCE NORTH 41° 45' 24" WEST 426.
FEET; THENCE NORTH 84° 17' 41" WEST 333.33 FEET; THENCE NORTH 47° 04' 49" WEST 227.12 FEET; THENCE SOUTH
80° 00' 41" WEST 322.85 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 28° 48' 02" WEST 150.74 FEET, MORE OR LESS, TO THE WEST LINE OF
SAID SECTION AT A POINT 1,684.75 FEET, MORE OR LESS, SOUTH OF THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID SECTION;
THENCE NORTHERLY ALONG THE WEST LINE OF SAID SECTION 918.42 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 86° 34' 40" WEST 179.
FEET INTO SECTION 14 TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN;
THENCE NORTH 15° 04' 07" WEST 230.04 FEET; THENCE NORTH 58° 07' 19" EAST 119.78 FEET; THENCE NORTH 00° 01'
13" EAST 61.10 FEET; THENCE NORTH 32° 39' 00" WEST 230.06 FEET; THENCE NORTH 00° 53' 38" EAST 120.27 FEET;
THENCE NORTH 76° 54' 36" WEST 239.46 FEET; THENCE NORTH 60° 00' 10" WEST 62.95 FEET; THENCE NORTH 01° 52'
45" WEST 38.91 FEET, MORE OR LESS, TO THE NORTH LINE OF SAID SECTION AT A POINT 560.07 FEET, MORE OR
LESS, WEST OF THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SAID SECTION; THENCE CONTINUING NORTH 01° 52' 45" WEST 25.
FEET INTO SECTION 11 TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN;
THENCE NORTH 80° 17' 35" EAST 182.46 FEET; THENCE NORTH 89° 45' 18" EAST 50.11 FEET; THENCE NORTH 00° 20'
49" EAST 1,005.30 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 88° 30' 58" EAST 91.84 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 31° 11' 00" EAST 209.72 FEET;
THENCE SOUTH 89° 41' 58" EAST 129.07 FEET TO THE EAST LINE OF SAID SECTION AT A POINT 887.16 FEET, MORE
OR LESS, NORTH OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SAID SECTION 12, TOWNSHIP 4 NORTH, RANGE 10 WEST, THOR-
NAPPLE TOWNSHIP, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN, AND THE POINT OF BEGINNING.TOTAL AREA OF THE GARBOW DRAIN DRAINAGE DISTRICT IS 218.51 ACRES, MORE OR LESS.Dated: March 25, 2021 Jim Dull, Barry County Drain Commissioner
157549Four varsity singers (left) —Payton Levett, Kennedy Allyn, Grayson Patton and
Andre Perez — lead a question-and-answer session with the eighth-grade choir.
(Photo by Andrew Moore)The Varsity Singers, standing on stage at the Hastings Performing Arts Center,
record their performances for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association Virtual
Choral Festival. Four other choirs took part in the festival, singing two songs each. The
eighth-grade choir sang “Üsküdar” and “Shenandoah,” Beginning Women’s Ensemble
sang “The Ring” and “Rise Up, My Love,” Men’s Glee sang “Laßt uns mit geschlungen
Händen K. 623” and “Eldorado,” Select Women’s Ensemble sang “You Are the New
Day” and “Lift Thine Eyes,” and the Varsity Singers sang “Earth Song” and “Musick’s
Empire.” (Photo provided)Hand surgery specialist
joins local orthopedic team
Spectrum Health Pennock has announced
the addition of Stephen Duquette, M.D., to the
growing Orthopedic and Pain Center team in
Hastings.
Duquette joins providers Bryan Kamps,
M.D., Eric Leep, D.O., Derek Axibal, M.D.,
Norman Davidson, PA-C, Daniel Blasch,
PA-C, and Collin Ludmer, PA-C, to provide
comprehensive care, including total joint
replacement, sports medicine, pain
management and now specialized hand
surgery.
“I’m excited to meet new people and
bring this specialized service to Pennock,
offering the community more convenience
and help eliminate trips out of town,” Duquette
said.
Duquette is a board-eligible physician
specializing in hand surgery joining. His
clinical interests include hand and wrist
fractures, tendon and ligament injuries,
arthritis, nerve repair, microvascular surgery
and soft-tissue reconstruction.
He will hold clinic days two days a month,
with one surgery day at the Spectrum Health
Pennock Baum Family Surgery Center
monthly. He also practices at the Spectrum
Health Medical Group Orthopedics and Sports
Medicine office in Grand Rapids.
Duquette has a medical degree from Lewis
Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.
He completed his integrated plastic surgery
residency at Indiana University School of
Medicine and his hand and microsurgeryfellowship at State University of New York at
Stony Brook.
In his free time, Duquette enjoys spending
time with his wife, daughter and son, exploring
all West Michigan has to offer, especially the
outdoors.
More about Spectrum Health Pennock
Orthopedic and Pain Center can be found at
spectrumhealth.org/Pennock.Submit disability update reports online
Vonda Van Til
Public Affairs Specialist
We are required to conduct continuing
eligibility reviews for disabled beneficiaries
every three years. This process requires
beneficiaries to complete a Continuing
Disability Review mailer to update
information about their medical conditions
and recent treatments.
We now offer an online option to complete
this update and provide any supporting
documents about your medical treatment or
your work.
We designed this new form with
convenience in mind — and to save you time.
You can access the online form at ssa.gov/
ssa455-online-form. (Use either Microsoft
Edge or Google Chrome for the best online
experience.)
You will need your Social Security
number, your current address and phone
number, and a valid email address to complete
the form. Also, you must have received a
request for an updated disability report in themail.
Once you “Click to Sign,” you will receive
an email from echosign.com asking you to
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junk folder if you don’t receive it within a few
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and your form won’t be processed — until
you complete the instructions in the email
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Visit our blog at blog.ssa.gov for more
articles — and our frequently asked questions
page at ssa.gov/faq.
(Note: The mention of Microsoft Edge
and Google Chrome is for informational
purposes only and does not constitute an
endorsement by the Social Security
Administration.)Vonda Van Til is the public affairs
specialist for West Michigan. You may write
her c/o Social Security Administration, 3045
Knapp NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525, or via
email to [email protected].Stephen Duquette, M.D.SOCIAL SECURITY
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