Free Concert

Please come join us for a FREE concert, Sunday, January 6, at 3:00 p.m. at the Star Theater, Willow Springs, Missouri. A gift sponsored by the STARS Foundation.

Dearbhail Finnegan was brought up in a wonderful family steeped in traditional Irish music, in the village of Nobber, Co. Meath, Ireland, the birthplace of Turlough O'Carolan.

Highlights include performing for President Bill Clinton in the Whitehouse, Washington D.C. during the 50th anniversary of NATO, seniorities at The House of Commons, London and President Barrack Obama during his visit to Ireland in 2011.

Together with her husband Robin they formed a Harp & Flute Duo, their popularity has increased over the years and are now in great demand both locally and abroad.

They have recently returned from Silver Dollar City, where they headlined their own show in America's Largest International Festival, 'Worldfest' in Branson, Missouri.

Together they combine natural humor with beautiful music to make an enjoyable evening very special.

Parade Time!

Members of the STARS Foundation will be appearing in two Christmas parades this Saturday.

The Cabool parade is at noon. Some STARS members will be riding and playing in the parade, while others will be performing Christmas music in front of the STARS Foundation building.

We'll travel to Houston in the evening to be present for their tree lighting ceremony, and then ride in the Houston parade.

In addition, a few STARS members will be performing at Vanetta Sponsler's home during the Art Club's Christmas Home Tour, at a time between the two parades.

Christmas Concert

Our annual Christmas concert was this weekend. We did two performances before a full house. Saturday's performance was at 7:00 p.m., and tonight's was at 4:00 p.m.

As always, a community choir joined us, and we had a wide variety of traditional Christmas songs.

Listed below are the songs we performed this year:

Nutcracker (string ensemble)
In the Bleak Midwinter (choir)
Joy to the World (choir, orchestra, and handbells)
And the Glory of the Lord (choir)
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (cello solo)
Mary Did You Know? (handbells)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (orchestra)
Glory to God (choir, with soprano solos by Elizabeth Stuart)
Shepherd's Joy (choir)
The Little Drummer Boy (brass ensemble)
Bring A Torch, Janette Isabella (orchestra)
Away in a Manger (choir and orchestra)
Angels We Have Heard on High (choir, orchestra, and congregation)
Silent Night (piano duet)
O Holy Night (string ensemble, with Elizabeth Stuart solo)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (orchestra and congregation
The Holy City (solo by Ben Smith)
What Child is This? (piano solo)
O Come All Ye Faithful (orchestra)
Carol of the Bells Fantasy (orchestra)
The First Noel (choir and orchestra)
Hallelujah Chorus (choir and strings)

Happy December Birthday

2 - Bailey G.
4 - Louise C.
6 - Hannah H.
6 - Kaile M.
6 - Weston P.
24 - Beverly H.
24 - Trevor A.
30 - Daniel B.

Holiday Schedule

Members of STARS Foundation are scheduled to appear in the following locations during the month of December:

December 1 and 2 - Christmas Concert, Cabool Christian Church
December 8 - Cabool Christmas Parade, Downtown Cabool
December 8 - Christmas Home Tour, Vanetta Sponsler home
December 8 - Houston Tree Lighting and Parade, Downtown Houston
December 11 - Mount Pisgah Church
December 15 - Miss Merry Christmas Show, Houston

If you'd like STARS to appear at your holiday event, please contact Rebecca at the STARS building on Main Street, Cabool, or call 417-254-3168.

You're Invited!

Happy November Birthday

1 - Ethan F.
2 - Forest S.
2 - Sherry M.
11 - Becky S.
11 - Conner B.
13 - Melissa V.
13 - Briana T.
13 - Garrett F.
14 - Everett M.
15 - Rebecca P.
15 - Elizabeth R.
18 - Andrea W.
24 - Truth G.
30 - Matthew S.

Messiah Choir

Rehearsals begin today for our annual community choir. Anyone interested in singing traditional Christmas music and portions of Handel's Messiah are invited to attend.

The fun begins this afternoon from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the STARS building in downtown Cabool. Rehearsals will continue on Sunday afternoons through November.

Performances are scheduled for Saturday, December 1, at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 2, at 3:00 p.m. at Cabool Christian Church. The community choir, soloists, and STARS orchestra will be featured at the event.

It's a Mystery

Tonight a small group of STARS students met at the Church of the Brethren to perform during a mystery dinner the church was hosting.

A fun time was had by all as we performed some of our favorite tunes, and watched the reactions of the guests not only to our music, but to the mystery food they were receiving.

One of the best times was when Andrew was singing Elvis' "Teddy Bear" and all the girls became his impromptu back-up singers. We really had a good time, and look forward to more fun times with the STARS Foundation.

Musicians and Rope Jumpers

Our first birthday celebration was a blast! It may have been pouring rain outside, but there was lots of fun going on inside the building.

Quite a few of the STARS students were on hand to "hang out" for the day. One nice thing about STARS, in addition to the music, is the way we've all become family. Any opportunity to be together is fun.

We played all kinds of music throughout the day, and played fun games in between. There was musical chairs, as well as jump rope and line dancing. We thought it was a major accomplishment to have five jumpers at the same time on one rope! During musical
chairs, it was fun to watch the students vie for a seat when the music stopped.

We're definitely looking forward to another fun year at STARS!

Happy Birthday, STARS!

The STARS Foundation is celebrating its first birthday!

Come join us downtown in front of the Cranberry Merchant building on Saturday, September 15th, as we celebrate a year of STARS.

We have a lot of fun activities and music planned from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a special "Happy Birthday" performance at noon.

Hope to see you there!

Fall Schedule

Monday:
Piano Lessons - Private Schedule

Tuesday:
3:30 - 4:30 - Beginner (Open String)
4:30 - 5:30 - Intermediate & Advanced
5:30 - 6:30 - Viola & Cello
7:30 - 8:30 - Flute

Wednesday:
1:30 - 3:30 - Extra Class
3:30 - 4:00 - Theory Class (Everyone required)
4:00 - 5:00 - Orchestra (Everyone required)
(Piano students are exempt from theory class and orchestra.)

Thursday:
4:00 - 6:00 - "Special Classes" (August - sign language)
4:00 - 5:00 - Percussion
5:00 - 6:00 - Guitar
6:00 - 7:00 - Reeds & Brass

*Please arrive 15 minutes early to tune and prepare for class.

Jungle Book Cast Party

Our Jungle Book cast party was held this evening at our director's home. A large group of cast members arrived with snacks to share.

Lots of running and playing outside happened while the adults worked to get the movie set up. There were problems in the beginning, but it was finally determined that a certain cord wasn't working. The cord was replaced, and the cast enjoyed watching themselves on the big screen, as the performance was projected onto the side of our director's two-story home!

We hear that Disney's "Aladdin" is next in line to perform. We can hardly wait until spring!!

Classes Begin August 13

Fall registration was a huge success! We would like to welcome 40+ new students who enrolled for STARS classes. Fall classes begin Monday, August 13.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday - piano
Tuesday - violin, viola, cello, and flute
Wednesday - music theory and orchestra
Thursday - "special class", percussion, ukuleles and guitars, brass and reeds

This month's special class is Sign Language.

Fall Registration

Registration continues today! 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Cranberry Merchant building in Cabool.

417 Magazine

The STARS Foundation is proud to be featured in the August 2012 issue of 417 Magazine. Here's the link:

Star Light, Star Bright

(Photo courtesy 417 Magazine, Matt Douglas)

More Fall Registration Info

Here's an update on our Fall Registration.

You may register on Monday, August 6, or Tuesday, August 7, between the hours of 4:00 and 6:30 p.m.

Registration will take place at the STARS Foundation building (the former Cranberry Merchant building), located on Main Street in Cabool.

Hope to see you there!

Fall Registration

STARS will be registering new students during the week of August 6th. More information later, as it becomes available.

Jungle Book Kids = Success!

Our final weekend of Disney's Jungle Book Kids was a success! So successful, in fact, that we had to do a couple extra shows to accommodate the large number of people wanting to see our kids perform!

We would like to thank our sponsors, Bank of Missouri and Cabool Area Chamber of Commerce - as well as all the area businesses and individuals who donated their time and money to make Jungle Book Kids as wonderful as it was!

Let the Performances Begin!

This weekend was opening weekend for the STARS Foundation's production of Disney's The Jungle Book Kids!

Our 76 actors, ages 19 and under, performed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in front of large crowds. Each performance gets better and better, and more laughter is involved, because with 76 actors who are all kids, you just never really know what to expect!

Here are our marching elephants, led by Colonel Hathi (Kamron Whipple) himself! Mowgli (Joseph Richardson) is trying his best to keep up with those wild and crazy marching elephants!

It's not too late to get your tickets for next weekend's performances! You can purchase your advanced tickets for $5 each at City Hall in Cabool, Pizza Americana in Willow Springs, or GiGi's Nail Salon in Houston.

Exciting News!

We'd like to recognize Cabool Area Chamber of Commerce, who joins The Bank of Missouri as sponsors for our STARS production of Disney's Jungle Book Kids!

We are so grateful for each of our sponsors, for without them, our production would not be possible!

Advance tickets will be available beginning tomorrow, Thursday, June 14. You may purchase them for $5.00 each at City Hall in Cabool or Pizza Americana in Willow Springs. Tickets are $6.00 each at the door.

Disney's Jungle Book Kids is our STARS Foundation fundrasier. Please help us make each of our six shows a sell out!!

Jungle Book Kids

Tryouts are complete, and practices have begun for our STARS summer fundraiser, Disney's Jungle Book Kids.

We held our first practice today, and our amazing cast of kids learned the entire opening song in about 40 minutes!

You won't want to miss this amazing production, starring our great group, ranging in ages from 4-19! Make plans now to see them live June 28, 29, and 30 and July 5, 6, and 7 at the Star Theatre in Willow Springs, Missouri.

We're On Facebook!

Stop by and like our Facebook page!

Cabool All-School Reunion 2012 part 2

Today a group of us from STARS got the opportunity to provide community service at Cabool's All-School Reunion. Some of us served lunch in the buffet line, while others helped carry plates, cleared tables, and helped load tables and chairs into the trucks.

We had an especially enjoyable time meeting and talking to various alumni members. Many of them were very interested in and impressed with our program. That's one of the most fun things about STARS - the opportunities we have to make new friends.

Cabool All-School Reunion 2012

Tonight we had the opportunity to perform at Cabool's All-School Reunion.  We took about 1/3 of the orchestra and played selections we'd played at our concert last Friday.

We were received very well by the crowd, that included many Cabool Alumni that had returned from out of state.  We look forward to our next performance!

Relay for Life

Wow! Tonight we performed for a full audience! They were bringing in more chairs to accommodate the crowd.

We played a variety of music from classical, Broadway, religious, movies, and more. While we played, a slide show ran of those whose lives have been touched by cancer. The slide show consisted of survivors and those who have passed.

I will never forget the reaction of the audience as we hit the last note of our final song, "Pirates of the Caribbean". They literally jumped out of their seats and yelled, "HOORAY!" The applause continued as we recognized our conductor, she recognized us, and we presented her with many, beautiful flowers.

It was an appropriate ending for a wonderful concert, and I know the real "HOORAY" will come when we learn how much money was donated to benefit American Cancer Society. I can hardly wait!

Relay For Life Dress Rehearsal

Photo courtesy Marshall Allen.

Relay For Life

March - May 2012 Newsletter

PERFORMANCES AND DATES TO REMEMBER

March 17 (Saturday)
Church of the Brethren St. Patrick's Day Lunch. Be there at 11:00 with your STARS t-shirts and accents of green. (Assigned to students participating.)

March 20 (Tuesday)
Cabool Arts Club at Vanetta Sponsler's home at 2:00. Play 3 songs. Nice dress.(Assigned to students participating.)

April 9 (Monday)
Teachers' Retirement Meeting at Houston First Baptist Church. "My Fifth Symphony" only.

April 14 & April 21 (Saturdays)
Additional orchestra rehearsals from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. in preparation for the Relay for Life Concert. REQUIRED!

May 5 & May 12 (Saturdays)
Additional orchestra rehearsals from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. in preparation for the Relay for Life Concert. REQUIRED!

May 18 (Friday)
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Dress rehearsal at Cabool High School New Gym. Wear black and white.
6:00 p.m. - Warm up for concert
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. - Concert

May 24 (Friday)
Alumni Reunion at the Gateway Park in Cabool. Everyone is invited to play from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Wear STARS t-shirts.

DISNEY'S JUNGLE BOOK KIDS PLAY

Auditions: May 15 and May 17 - 3:00-6:00 at STARS

Ages: 21 and under

Performance Dates: June 28, 29, 30 & July 5, 6, 7

Rehearsals will begin May 22, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Full schedule will be given at auditions.