Purpose

We believe that it is a music education imperative that we perform the national anthem whenever possible. Yes, performing the anthem provides our organization with greater community visibility and involvement, but hearing it performed (and performed well) reminds all of us of the tie that binds our communities and nation together, it helps our students form bonds with their community, and it instills pride in the American ideals we all hold dear – freedom, liberty and equality.

Coaches, Sponsors, and Event Organizers

We are happy to provide you with a national anthem singer for your events (sports, community, special) and club meetings. We ask that requests be submitted via email to Mr. Gilmore at least two weeks in advance of the performance date - a month (or more) of notice is preferred.  In some very special circumstances, we may be able to provide a quartet, small ensemble, or even a full choir to sing - given enough notice and schedules permitting. Because we do have other scheduled choir, school, and community responsibilities, not all requests may be able to be honored, but we will do our best to help you. For Central High School events, if we cannot have someone there in person, we can provide you with a recording of the choir to be used instead. 

To get your event on the schedule, please email Mr. Gilmore:

• The exact date, time, and location that the student is to sing. Also include a preferred check-in time that the student would need to check-in with you or your representative to confirm that they are there and ready to perform.
• A good, working email address and telephone number for you (or your designated representative for the event).

Please let us know if the date, time, or location of your event changes after the initial schedule request. We will do our best to honor the new request. Coaches: if you initially send us a list of home games and later make additions that you want singers for (like making and hosting playoffs, tournaments, etc.), please make sure and let us know. We aren't able to follow all of the "news" at the school very well and we don't want to miss a big game because we didn't have the post-season dates.

In exchange for our services, we have three modest requests:

• Please announce or introduce the national anthem as sung by "Central High School Choir Student, [performer's name]". For example, "Performing the Star-Spangled Banner for today's game is Central High School Choir Student, John Doe."
• For performances in large or outdoor venues, please provide some form of amplified public address system.
• Please be understanding if the student(s) must leave immediately after singing. Many times they have other schedule commitments to keep and they can't stay for your entire event even though they might want to.

Choir Students

Auditions will be held each fall for CHS & CFC choir students to be selected as "approved national anthem singers". It is a requirement that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be sung unaccompanied using the correct words, pitches, and rhythms BY MEMORY. Special emphasis will be placed on singing the anthem using a free, supported tone; excellent diction (well-formed vowels and articulated consonants); and accurate intonation. Small, tasteful stylings and ornamentations are allowed, but auditionees should be prepared to sing the anthem without any embellishments if the director deems the student's interpretation to be over-stylized. Students are encouraged to consult a quality printed copy of the music (one is available here).

Once approved, the selected students will be able to request to be scheduled to sing the national anthem at any available events. Students will earn a point toward their varsity choir letter jacket each time they perform the national anthem. For more information on earning a varsity letter jacket, please see the current choir department handbook.

Approved Singers

Approved national anthem performers will be required to create and maintain an account on the ShiftPlanning server. This system allows us to fairly and equitably publish available singing opportunities to all of the eligible students. This system also allows students to trade dates between themselves and be notified of any scheduling changes automatically. Some special events may be manually scheduled by either Mr. Gilmore or Mrs. Bullock and may not appear as an available "shift" for everyone.

A brief ShiftPlanning setup and training session will be held immediately following the annual announcement of the "Approved Singers List".