Greetings from VJHS and SSMS Choirs and General Music courses!!! We are off and running with an exciting 2022-2023 school year. Our singers will learn a wide variety of standard choral repertoire from various style periods, including many popular genres such as contemporary a cappella, gospel, soul, etc. The students also will study, explore, and develop their own individual voices and examine how they contribute to the group. As we are becoming more geared toward online technology, the choirs also will have digital assignments in solo and group literature. Singers also will work daily to improve their musicianship knowledge and skills. General Music students will explore various musical styles, composers and artists throughout music history, musical instruments, basic music notation, and other various aspects of music and its impact on and relationship to our contemporary society.
Upcoming 2022-2023 Events (Dates & Times will be added as determined):
* September 20-21 - SICC Honor Choir - University of Southern Mississippi (VJHS Singers)
* October 7-8 - Central Mississippi Honor Choir, sponsored by The Mississippi Chorus - Ridgeland High School (VJHS Singers)
* October 9-20 - High School All-State Honor Choir Auditions - Virtual Audition (VJHS Singers)
* Nov 10 & 11 - Veterans Day Presentations - VJHS & SSMS (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Dec TBA - Holiday Choir Concert (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Dec 1 - Christmas Presentation - SSMS (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Jan 13 - MSACDA Aca-Fest Workshop - Pearl River Community College, Poplarville (VJHS Singers)
* Jan TBA - Falcons Got Talent - VJHS Auditorium (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Feb 1 - MSACDA & MMEA High School & Middle School Solo & Ensemble Competitions (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Feb TBA - Madison County Choral Festival - Velma Jackson HS Auditorium (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Feb TBA - Black History Month Presentations - VJHS & SSMS (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Feb TBA - High School State Beta Club Talent Competition (VJHS Singers)
* Feb 27-28 - MHSAA High School Choral State Performance Assessment (Central Site) - Northside Baptist Church of Clinton (VJHS Singers)
* March 23-25 - MSACDA High School All-State Honor Choir Event - University of Southern Mississippi (Select VJHS Singers)
* Apr 3-4 - MHSAA/MMEA Choral Art Festival - Northside Baptist Church of Clinton (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* Apr TBA - "Gold & Blue Talent Revue" Talent Show/ Spring Choir Concert (VJHS Singers & SSMS Singers)
* May TBA - SSMS Awards Day Presentations (SSMS Singers)
Parents, please do not hesitate to e-mail me should you have any questions or concerns this year.
Students, keep working! "There's always time for fun when the work is getting done!"
Joel Hill currently is serving in his 21st year of music education and is serving in his 7th year as Director of Choirs and General Music Teacher at Velma Jackson High School and Shirley D. Simmons Middle School in the Madison County School District. Prior to coming to MCSD, Mr. Hill served from 2007-2016 as Director of Choral & Vocal Music at Holmes Community College in Goodman, MS, where he directed the Holmes Concert Chorale and The Coachmen, a contemporary a cappella ensemble, and taught private voice, music theory aural skills training, and other music education courses. In addition, he served as Academic Advisor for Music/Music Education Majors and as Associate Department Chair of Fine Arts. In 2016, The Coachmen, were the first-ever community college contemporary a cappella group, and the first group from the state of Mississippi selected to perform on the Main Stage at the National A Cappella Convention in Memphis, TN, sponsored by the (AEA) A Cappella Education Association.
Prior to Holmes CC, Mr. Hill taught choral music, showchoir, and musical theatre for five years at Forest HS and Kosciusko HS, while also performing in community theatre and teaching private voice. A native of Grenada, MS, he served as Minister of Music at Central Baptist Church of Grenada from 1996-2018, and as Interim Minister of Music at Friendship Baptist Church of Grenada from 1995-1996.
In 2004, Mr. Hill received special recognition as the recipient of the Colleen Kirk Memorial Award presented by the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. This award is given annually to "an outstanding young choral music educator who is chosen to represent the Southern Division’s 11-state region."
In 2021, Mr. Hill was selected as the 2020-2021 Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Music Educator of the Year. In 2022, he was named a National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Music Educator of the Year.
Mr. Hill holds the Associate of Arts degree in Vocal Music Education from Holmes Community College in Goodman, MS; the Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Music Education from the University of Mississippi in Oxford; and the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Mississippi College in Clinton.
Active in professional organizations, Mr. Hill continues to serve in numerous statewide leadership roles. He currently serves on the statewide boards for (MSACDA) the Mississippi Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and (MMEA) Mississippi Music Educators Association. Mr. Hill currently serves as the immediate Past-President of the MMEA/MHSAA High School Choral Division and assists with the MHSAA High School Choral State Performance Assessments. He served as MHSAA District VI High School Choral Chair in 2017-2019. He also currently serves as State Conference Registrar & Treasurer for the annual joint MMEA-ACDA State Conference. Mr. Hill served as President (2012-2014) and Secretary (2014-2016) of the Choral Directors Association for the (MACJC) MS Association of Community & Junior Colleges. He also is an active member of (AEA) A Cappella Education Association, (NAfME) National Association for Music Education, (NFHS) National Federation of High Schools, and (MPE) MS Professional Educators. He is a past member of (NATS), the National Association for Teachers of Singing. He is a frequent choral adjudicator and has judged preliminary rounds for American Idol and The Colgate Country Showdown.
Mr. Hill currently resides in Madison, with his wife and their three children, and is Assistant Music Director at Victory Baptist Church in Madison, MS.
