Tag Archives: Laura Prehn

by: Laura Prehn

One thing that sets Oak Grove  apart from other schools in the  district is the number and  quality of the extracurriculars,  and no one knows this better  than the members  of the choral  department. Even non-choral  students enjoy hearing and  seeing the choir perform the  “Alma Mater” in the rotunda,  the “National Anthem” at  football  games, and the show  choir performance in the gym at  the end of the year. As a result,  all students are impacted by the installment of new choir director, Darren Dale,  and the new vision he has for the department.

Darren Dale is the youngest of five children, all of whom were involved in choir and show choir in high school. Watching his oldest sister perform with her high school  show choir for the first time sparked his love of music at age six. Dale attended Clinton High School and followed in the footsteps of his siblings by joining the Clinton  Attaché show choir. His favorite part of Attaché, he explained with a smile, was the trips. Dale’s first plane flight and first trip to Disney World both occurred while  traveling to show choir competitions. “It was a great opportunity to travel and see things that I otherwise may not have seen,” Dale said.

Dale went on to attend Mississippi Delta Community College and Mississippi College, where he majored in pre-dentistry for two years before switching his major to  marketing. He worked at a bank for a year after graduating college. Dale then returned to Mississippi College to pursue a degree in his original interest: music education.  Dale then accepted the position of choir director at Opelika High School, and, although he enjoyed the job, he struggled with the upkeep of the large and still growing  choral program. After five years, Director Darren Dale began looking for a new job opportunity.

But why would a director come all the way from Opelika, Alabama, to Hattiesburg, Mississippi? As fate would have it, Dale’s parents live next door to Principal Wayne Folkes’s sister in Clinton, Mississippi. So, he took the job at Oak Grove, eager for the challenge of creating another award-winning show choir. But the OGHS Centerstage! show choir is in for a few major changes. Dale has already announced that he plans to bump the group up a division for competition season. His biggest goal? To replicate his own high school show choir experience for the students at Oak Grove. “At my high school show choir, every single time we performed, I felt like I was completely ready. There were never any regrets. And, what the result was didn’t matter because we had reached our goal of putting on a successful show,” Dale said.

While Dale looks forward to facing off against what he calls “the big dogs” of the show choir world this February, the  students  themselves are nearly as eager as their director. After polling a few of the members to share their opinions of the bold new director, four-year member Markos Williams said, “I love Mr. Dale! He has a great sense of humor.” Carley Robertson, senior, is optimistic about her second and final year performing with Centerstage! “Even though it’s different for us, I love Mr. Dale and think we’ll have a good year,” she said confidently.

Dale’s first event as director of the Oak Grove choral department will be the Fall Show on December 8th and 9th at the Oak Grove Primary School PAC. The concert choir, show choir, and women’s choir will be featured at the concert.