A Cappella classes will be be continuing the six year tradition of singing at Piedmont Middle School for their Diversity day on Friday, May 2.

A Cappella teacher Joe Piazza said the kind of music they will be singing can entertain, bring a message of tolerance and inclusion, and build a culture of respect and community for everyone in the Piedmont schools.

“So much of what A Cappella can do is perform repertoire of many different cultures and styles,” Piazza said.

Piazza said they have Anne Smith and Kim Lipkin to thank for originally inviting the class to sing and have kept the tradition going all these years.

The students will be singing South African Songs, an African American folk song and a new piece by Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber called Sing, written for the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth.

Piazza said on that same day the A Cappella classes are also taking this music along with several other piece from this year’s Acappella Review to the elementary school.

“Many of the tunes for this year’s review are actual arrangements from the movie Pitch Perfect,” Piazza said. “We are going to do a show this year which is truly a-cappella, so nothing (other than some percussion) to accompany the singers.”

Senior Katie Cummins said the A Capella classes started learning the music at the beginning of the second semester.

“We take every opportunity we can to perform but this event is mostly to promote the A Cappella class to the middle school,” Cummins said.

Piazza said the program wants the middle schoolers to feel inspired and prepared at the beginning of the day to talk about the topics given to them for Diversity Day.

“They will hear about many different cultures, and see and hear performances that they can appreciate, and respond to with enthusiasm and interest,” Piazza said.

Senior Ellie Forrester said it’s really fun seeing how excited the kids get when we come to sing for them.

“This should really encourage them to sign up when they come to the high school and it will also show them what the program is like,” Forrester said.

As for the A Cappella classes themselves, the students are always learning more and more about world cultures, history, and the human experiences by performing music from around the world.

“Most recently we sang a piece called Babethandaza which combines two South African folk songs, one of them about the importance of ancestor worship in their culture, and another song which was adopted by Mandela and those that march for freedom against apartheid in South Africa,” Piazza said.

Piazza said we also want to show the middle school what the high school choir kids can do.

“It’s pretty extraordinary when you get 130 kids singing and dancing together,” Piazza said. “There’s awe in the sheer number of people working together and being a part of a community of students that share a love of singing.”