Ramsay High School Concert Choir

The Ramsay High School Concert Choir has enthralled music audiences everywhere. Choral music at Ramsay has always had a standard of excellence. C.

The Ramsay choirs have sung their way into the hearts and memories of concert goers everywhere under notable past directors such as Gregory Durr White, Elizabeth Selman and James Pruitt. The choirs perform a vast array of music that includes the compositions of classical masters, Negro spirituals, contemporary jazz and gospels. Traditional performances of the Ramsay choirs include a Christmas conc

ert, African American History month performances, and the end of the year gospel concert. These performances bring many music lovers to our performances annually. The Ramsay High School Concert Choir, under the direction of Myrna Ria Ross, continues a tradition of choral excellence in performance. The choir has the distinct pleasure of being the only Birmingham City high school to receive consecutive “Superior” ratings at the annual All-City Choral Music Performance and Sight-Singing Evaluations. The Ramsay High School Concert Choir received the “Distinguished Musicianship Award” in recognition of receiving All Superior Ratings during the 2013 Alabama Vocal Association State Choral Performance Assessment at the University of Alabama. They have also received ratings of “Superior” at the Gulf-Coast Choral Festival. Through the years, many Ramsay choir members have been selected to participate in the Alabama All-State Choir. Ramsay choir members have participated in the University of Alabama Honor Choir, the UAB Honor Choir, and The University of Montevallo Honor Choir Festival. The choir has performed at Samford University, Miles College and at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where they were the invited guest of world renown composer, Roland Carter. The choir has received many resolutions from the Birmingham Board of Education for meritorious service. Ramsay choir has performed in many area local churches some of which include Trinity Baptist, Sixteenth Street Baptist, The Cathedral of St. Paul, Southside Presbyterian, St. Luke Baptist, Briarwood Presbyterian, First Baptist Fairfield, Westminster Presbyterian, Rising Star Baptist, Southside Baptist, St. Mary’s Episcopal, Sixth Avenue Baptist, The Guiding Light Church, Lily Grove Baptist, St. James Baptist, More Than Conquerors Faith Church, McElwain Baptist, Soul’s Harbor Deliverance Center, First Baptist Church of East Lake, Woodlawn Methodist, St. Marks C.M.E., New Rising Star Baptist, and Faith Chapel Christian Center. Civic performances and performance venues include The Botanical Gardens, The Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, The Birmingham Art Museum, The Club, MBUSA (Mercedes Benz), The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Vulcan and The Summit Club, to name a few. Ramsay Choir recently had the honor of performing in New York City with cast members of the Broadway musical, “Hairspray”. This tour CONTINUED on to Washington D. and Hampton, Virginia before returning to Birmingham. During the 2013 school year, the choir was afforded the opportunity to perform for a global audience and received rave reviews from as far away as Brazil! We look forward to more exciting vocal opportunities in the years to come.

05/12/2016

Ramsay High School Choir
Spring Concert
Thursday, May 12, 2016
South Side Baptist Church
7:00 pm

The Legacy Continues...

02/19/2016

Music changes lives.

10/13/2015

Copied from Valerie Harris:

Hello everyone! I am Valerie R. Harris and I am in charge of getting everyone together to sing at the service for our beloved Myrna Ria Ross. We had the first rehearsal during choir today, with the present choir members and all went well! We would like to invite all alumni who would like to participate to the next two rehearsals. They will be Tomorrow, October 13th@3:45 in the choir room at Ramsay and Friday, October 16th@ 6:30 pm at New Birth Birmingham. The address is 117 12th Court NW, Birmingham, Al. 35215. We have chosen songs that we believe you will be able to catch on and sing well. If you were in the choir from 2014-2015, we would like to sing Canticle of Praise which was one of her favorite classical choral pieces. I hope that we can come together Friday after rehearsal, and go over that with those persons from class of 2015, along with those who are presently in the choir and sang during the last school year. The service will be Saturday, October 17th@11 AM at New Birth Birmingham. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I look forward to seeing and working with you! Thanks you for your love for my friend and allowing her to be a part of your life!

We are asking you to wear black and the school color blue. If you don't have the school color blue, just wear black. Thanks!

10/11/2015

Ms. Ross never wanted her picture as the profile picture for this page. She always wanted this page to be about the choir and about the students. Now it will be about her. She made us what we were. She taught us how to be good people. She loved us all where we were and told us how we could be better. She shared her love for Jesus Christ with us not only in words, but in actions. She is missed. She will be forever missed.

We love you Ms. Ross!

Signed Jeannen Whatley, Ramsay High School c/o '92

Ramsay High School Concert Choir C/O 2016

09/22/2015

Ramsay High School Concert Choir Senior Installation

Ramsay High School Concert Choir C/O 2016 Senior Instalation 9/20/2016

05/26/2015

Upcoming Performance by the Ramsay High School Concert Choir:

Thursday, June 4 - Perform for “The Freedom Exhibition: One Struggle, Two Countries—
The Comparative Civil Rights Photography of Spider Martin and Peter Magubane-
American Segregation and South African Apartheid
50 images from each photographer will be exhibited for this 100 image blockbuster photography show!

Sponsored by City of Birmingham, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
William A. Bell, Sr. Mayor
Renee Kemp-Rotan, Curator
In collaboration with UAB Abroms Engel Institute of the Visual Arts

05/26/2015

Hampton University Concert Choir to perform at Ramsay High School on May 4

hampton choir
By Chanda Temple

As a teenager growing up in Birmingham, Myrna Ria Ross always knew she wanted to go to Hampton University in Virginia.

One of the things that attracted her was the school’s choir.

“It was their sound. Their interpretation of music,’’ she says. “I had never heard anything like that before.’’

While in the choir, she toured across the country and different parts of the world. The experience changed her life.

She wants to expose Birmingham students to what she lived as a college student. She’s invited the Hampton University Choir to perform at Ramsay High School on Monday, May 4 at 10:30 a.m. Admission is free.

“They have a standard of excellence, which is why I want my students exposed to them,’’ says Ross, who’s director of the award-winning Ramsay High School Concert Choir. “As a matter of fact, the school's slogan is “The standard of excellence.’ ‘’

Ross says she wants students to know about various opportunities available after high school. One of them is studying at Hampton University.

“Since I’ve been a teacher at Ramsay for 28 years, we’ve had 17 Ramsay students graduate from Hampton. The 18th one will graduate next week,’’ she says. “It’s such a fine university.’’

"The people who need to know about Hampton, go to Hampton,'' she says.

The Hampton University Choir will also perform at Saint John AME Church on Sunday, May 3 at 5 p.m. The Ramsay Concert Choir will perform a pre-concert, under Ross’ direction, at the church.

Ross is always working to get her students involved in lifetime opportunities. In March, the choir performed in Selma during the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March. They also recorded a song, "We Can Overcome,'' which is now available for $1 on iTunes. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the choir. And earlier this week, the choir received all superior ratings during the school system's All-City Chorale Evaluations. Ross says the choir has received straight superior ratings for the last 22 years.

Here’s a list of other Ramsay Concert Choir performances:

Saturday, April 26 – Perform with the Birmingham-Southern College’s One A-Chord Gospel Choir during the “Sounds of Praise’’ event at 3 p.m. in the Great Hall on the northern campus. Free.

Wednesday, May 20 – Perform during the Governor’s Arts Awards in Montgomery.

Thursday, June 4 - Perform for “The Freedom Exhibition: One Struggle, Two Countries—
The Comparative Civil Rights Photography of Spider Martin and Peter Magubane-
American Segregation and South African Apartheid
50 images from each photographer will be exhibited for this 100 image blockbuster photography show!

Sponsored by City of Birmingham, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
William A. Bell, Sr. Mayor
Renee Kemp-Rotan, Curator
In collaboration with UAB Abroms Engel Institute of the Visual Arts

Get social with Birmingham City Schools. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

1 Comments

Anonymous
on April 22, 2015
Reply

I voted for the property tax increase so the children in Birmingham City Schools will have the opportunity to continue to enjoy performing and learning the fine arts. I appreciate teachers like Ms Ross who shows her dedication by exposing the students to her alma mater. Keep up the good work.

Photos from Ramsay High School Concert Choir's post

05/21/2015

Ramsay High School Choir singing on the King Lear set at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for the Governor's Arts Awards with Valerie R. Harris as accompanist.

05/01/2015

04/30/2015

The general public is invited to hear the Hampton University Concert Choir on this coming Sunday, May 3rd at St. John A.M.E. Church, located at 708 15th St. North at 5:00 p.m. The Choir will also perform a full concert in the Ramsay High School auditorium at 10:30 a.m. on the following Monday. Please share this invitation on your social media pages and plan to attend one of the two events. See you there

04/24/2015

Ramsay Choir and Band students are enthralled by a preview of a classical piano concert by Ramsay alum, Dr. Myron Brown, who is a professor of music at Winston Salem State Universitiy.

Claim ownership or report listing

Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Birmingham?

Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.

Location

Birmingham

Contact the school

Click here to send a message to the school

Telephone

+12052314600

Website

http://www.bhm.k12.al.us/

Address

Birmingham, AL
35205