Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Sandusky High School’s A Capella Choir



This is the Sandusky High School A Capella Choir during the 1957-1958 academic year. The A Capella Choir was organized in 1934 by Miss Eulalie Shaw. In 1947 the Choir was heard over a local radio broadcast for the first time, and the Sandusky Rotary Club presented the choir with thirty-seven handbells in 1960.  

The fiftieth annual Christmas concert was presented by the A Capella Choir of Sandusky High School on December 19 and 20, 1983. Over twenty holiday songs were sung at the concert, with the final number being the Hallelujah Chorus from the “Messiah,” which was dedicated to the memory of former choir director Harold C. Kaufman. A special program was created for the Golden Anniversary concert of the Choir was created by Mr. Charles T. Mayer. It featured drawings of the directors of the A Cappella Choir from 1934 to 1983.


This key to the illustrations appears inside the front cover of the program.

A history of the A Capella Choir is found in the 50th Anniversary program, along with the story of the Sandusky High School choir robe. The first robing ceremony took place in 1953. 


Here is a picture of the first A Capella Choir, from the 1934-1935 school year:



Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the rich history of the Sandusky City Schools. Several archival boxes are devoted to graduation programs, photographs, and many other historical items. Concerts by Sandusky City School students in band, choir, and elementary music classes have been enjoyed by local residents for many years.

2 comments:

S. G. said...

I love this post! Thanks for the history lesson. I’m proud to be an alum and past officer of the A Capella Choir and as an archivist myself, I love seeing it’s rich history shared.

Ed Daniel said...

My brother John and I had the distinct pleasure of working alongside Harold Kaufman in the summer of 1953 or 54, as laborers for the Feick Company constructing the auto dealership sales and service building on Perkins Ave just west of Milan Road. Mr. Kaufman, despite being the highly respected choir director at Sandusky High, needed to work summers to supplement his income. He was a wonderful man, treated us as equals despite our young years, and we always cherished the insights of life we learned from him during that summer. Truly, the students at Sandusky High who studied under him were very fortunate to have him as a teacher. Ed Daniel Rockviile, MD