By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

They came from across the country – Washington, D.C. to Birmingham; Paducah to Columbia. There were teachers and those studying to be teachers; an attorney and a public health educator; salespeople, managers and small business owners. But they all had something important in common: they all sang in MaryRuth Boone’s choirs at Dexter High School.

The first-ever DHS Choir Alumni Weekend was held this weekend in tribute to Boone and her three decades as a music educator in the Dexter schools. Her former students came back together for a weekend of fun, rehearsal, remembering and most of all – music. They practiced hard, sang beautifully, laughed much, remembered good times and made new memories. They literally brought two audiences to their feet with enthusiastic applause and appreciation.

The weekend was the spearheaded by Eric Mathis, who is now teaching music at Stamford university in Birmingham. Along the way, Mathis was joined by a local planning committee and together they have worked since December 2010 to plan and prepare for the event.

Mathis felt the choral music tradition established in the Dexter community by Boone needed to be celebrated, so last year he began developing plans, talking to friends, and working toward a goal.

“Given the decline of music and arts education programs in public school systems across the country, Dexter is fortunate to have a music educator like Mrs. Boone who has maintained a choral program in the junior and senior high schools for nearly thirty years,” Mathis said at the onset of the project.

This past weekend was the culmination of that project.

As alumni began arriving for a day of rehearsal at the First United Methodist church Saturday morning, there was a festive atmosphere. Friends were seeing friends with plenty of hugs and hand shakes in the line to register. It was a diverse group – young and not-so-young, folks who had been singing in church choirs or in college, and others who hadn’t sung since high school.

The group included a father who was a freshman Boone’s first year in Dexter, and his son who was a senior in her final year at DHS. There was a mother who was an early student and her two daughters who sang together in Chamber Choir this year. There was a man who was a senior that first year Boone taught who is now a colleague at Dexter Middle School. One young man is now a member of the Washington Chorus, a choir in our nation's capitol that performs at the Kennedy center for Performing Arts; others who sang in collegiate choirs; many who sing in church choirs today. And Boone’s own two children – Andrew and Afton – who many in the choir remembered as small children.

Throughout the day on Saturday the choir rehearsed together and in sectionals. During the morning large group rehearsal, Boone arrived and slipped into a pew in the back of the church sanctuary. Occasionally a student would turn around and see her – and wave; some slipped out of their seat to go give her a hug. All, though, broke out into applause when Mathis announced her arrival.

Mathis directed the large choir and was helped in sectional rehearsals by Maria Chamberlain (sopranos), Jessica Moore (altos) and Jeff Huffman (tenors). Pianists for the day included Delisa Stize, Brandy Mouser, and Gail Clippard.

Boone directed this year’s Chamber Choir in two selections as well as the mass choir on one number. On Sunday morning many of the mass choir members gathered at the first United Methodist Church to sing in the congregation’s worship service. Boone has been the music director at the church for 30 years.

Then, that afternoon, everyone regrouped for a dress rehearsal and afternoon concert at First Baptist Church.

Following the concert Boone, her husband, Bill and her children were escorted from the Worship Center to a reception in their honor in the Atrium. Friends filed through the receiving line, and choir members introduced their children to Boone, and stories were told.

Planning committee members who worked on the event included Mathis, LaVeda Banken, Julie Lancaster, Lisa Mathis, Melisa Mayo, Annabeth Miller, Brandy Mouser, Toni Pyle, Patti Shell, and Mark Snider. Snider served as the master of ceremonies at the Sunday concert.

Photos Above: Top photo - a portion of the DHS Alumni Choir in concert on Sunday; Bottom photo - Jon Hessling and MaryRuth Boone at the reunion rehearsal on Saturday. (Photos by Annabeth Miller)

Additional photos of the weekend are available at www.gregmathisphotos.com. Thanks, Greg!