Fort Myers High School Choral Department: About Us

The Choral Program is founded on the belief that music and the arts are essential to education and to life. The program focuses on teaching choral music as a tool for developing life skills and an appreciation for the aesthetic value of the arts.

Students will experience many extrinsic benefits of musicianship and chorus membership: teamwork, goal-setting, cooperative effort, personal responsibility, individual growth, performance/presentation skills, a caring attitude and continuous improvement.

OK. Now that all of the above has been stated, the bottom line is: CHORUS IS FUN!!!!!!! What are you waiting for?!?! Sign up for chorus TODAY!

Soundwave

Soundwave is a 35 voice show choir that is open to all students who have successfully completed an audition. We consist of singers and dancers who want to share and improve upon their performance abilities. Class time focuses on show preparation and vocal/movement technique. Auditions normally occur at the end of the previous school year, however auditions may be held periodically in order to fill needs within the ensemble. Most recently, Soundwave opened for Gavin DeGraw as part of the Edison Festival of Light. Soundwave sings repertoire mostly from the pop genre, but also dabbles in some classical repertoire as well. This ensemble performs frequently throughout the community as well as at all Choral Department concerts.

Verdigris

Verdigris (ver-di-gree) is open to female students by audition only. Students will continue to expand their knowledge of ensemble singing, vocal technique, music reading, theory and harmonization. They will participate in the Choral Music Performance Assessment in early spring (see handbook for more details). This choir will also participate in all Choral Department concerts.

Verdigris has consistently received straight superior ratings in performance and sight reading from the District 11 Music Performance Assessment. They also presented the World Premiere performance of "Annie Laurie" by Peter Fischer, and commissioned a treble arrangement of the song collection "Not About Cheese" by Robert Convery. Verdigris will premiere that work this year.

Fermata

Fermata is the beginning chorus at Fort Myers High School. This ensemble is open to all students. No prior musical experience or knowledge is required. The student will be introduced to the basic choral techniques necessary to perform in an ensemble. Topics shall include but not be limited to: vocal warm-ups, introduction to music reading, basic musicianship, music theory, harmonization, breathing, posture and performance standards. Fermata will prepare students so that they have an opportunity to audition for one of our advanced groups. This group will perform at all Choral Department concerts. Repertoire will be selected each year based on the students in the class.

INFLUX

INFLUX is a co-ed, auditioned, extracurricular pop a cappella group. They perform a wide range of music ranging from vocal jazz, spirituals, and today's popular music. In some pieces the guitar, bass guitar, horn, even percussion parts are performed only with the voice, usually backing a soloist.

INFLUX has performed at many venues throughout the community, including Miramar Outlets, The Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, and the Edison Festival of Lights.

Influx will rehearse twice weekly with extra rehearsals as needed.

Matt Koller - Director

A highly acclaimed choral and instrumental conductor, Mr. Koller has led ensembles which have been praised with comments such as “…the voices and diction were sheer perfection” and “…as professional a student orchestra as I have had the pleasure to hear.” A New Jersey native, Mr. Koller received the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award in “Outstanding Musical Direction” for the Watchung Hills Regional High School production of Jekyll and Hyde in 2002. In 2003 Mr. Koller was nominated for the same award for the WHRHS production of Godspell. This is an extreme honor as 110 high schools in the state participate annually.

At Fort Myers High School, Mr. Koller and his ensembles Soundwave, Influx, and Verdigris enjoy performing frequently throughout the community. Verdigris has consistently earned straight “Superior” ratings in music performance and sight reading at the annual music performance assessment. In May 2008, the choral department released its first CD, "Falling Through Ceilings" which may be obtained from the school. Mr. Koller also teaches Concert Choir, music theory, and IB Theatre.

Mr. Koller earned his B.M. in music education from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. He has participated in choral and opera performances throughout the United States and Italy. He has sung with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, The Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and The New York Philharmonic with whom he had the opportunity to record Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem and Schicksalslied, Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, and Honnegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au Bucher. Mr. Koller has also been seen on the stage as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf in the Trilogy Repertory (Basking Ridge, NJ) Plays in the Park production of Into The Woods and served as musical director for their productions of Seussical, The Musical and Peter Pan.

Besides all of this, Mr. Koller is an avid fan of the New York Yankees. Some may hold this against him, but he is prepared to be martyred for them.