For 17 minutes and 32 seconds, the Singing Superintendents performed five songs at the start of the 3rd (and final) General Session of AASA’s 2020 national conference in San Diego on Saturday morning.
Ten conference participants – a smaller contingent than in past years — made up this year’s performance group on stage.
After opening with the national anthem, the group sang four show tunes and popular music.
“Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor” by Irving Berlin followed the national anthem. This melancholy song and “Make Them Hear You” provided nice harmonies. The mood shifted to a lighter note with “High Hopes,” which Frank Sinatra made popular. Then, singers performed Elton John’s “Hakuna Matata” from “The Lion’s King.” The title means “no worries for the rest of your days.”
The final song was a rousing rendition of “YMCA,” the audience clapped to the music while AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech took the stage and threw up his arms to make the letters.
The superintendents committed to three rehearsals. David Cox, director of schools in Sullivan County, Tenn., was the conductor. Barry Furze, a retired school district in South Dakota, accompanied on piano.
The tradition of the Singing Superintendents began more than 25 years ago under the leadership of Benny Gooden.
(Liz Griffin in the senior reporter for Conference Daily Online and managing editor of School Administrator.)
