Club teams with Board of Education to donate new risers for music program at high school.

Music & More Booster Club at James Caldwell High School Gives Singers a Lift

Singers at James Caldwell High School, West Caldwell, display the beauty and sound of their new risers. Used for musical and drama productions at the school, the risers were donated by the Music & More Booster Club with matching funds from the Caldwell-West Caldwell Board of Education this year.
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The Music & More Booster Club helped give students at James Caldwell High School (JCHS), West Caldwell, a lift this year, teaming with the Caldwell-West Caldwell Board of Education to donate new stage risers for the school’s musical groups. The risers, used for musical and drama productions at the school, will be used primarily in the school’s Center for Performing Arts (CPA).

Music & More, a 501c(3) non-profit organization that is organized and run by parents, raises money for the entire music department, traditionally funding scholarships for seniors and the school’s annual music tour. This year, the group saw the need to replace the old risers for the musical performances and productions.

Music and drama students raise funds for the booster club through a variety of fundraisers. “Each year, the Music & More Booster Club provides a gift to the performing arts department,” said parent and Music & More co-president Rachael Bell. “This year, with the generous help and support of the Caldwell-West Caldwell Board of Education, we are thrilled to be able to underwrite the cost of new chorus risers.”

Past gifts from the club include performance shirts for the female musicians and singers, make-up for the spring musical, and a scissor lift for the CPA stage. The risers were significantly more expensive than past gifts donated by the Club, but the Board of Education agreed to match the Club’s contribution and purchase the nearly $13,000 risers.

“Nearly 50% of our students are involved in the performing arts, matching the donation by the Music & More Booster Club made sense as it benefited such a large number of our students,” said Superintendent Dr. James Heinegg. “Also, the new risers have four steps, which can accommodate more students.”

Supervisor of music Scott Chamberlain added, “With the multitude of events held in the CPA, having risers that can be moved quickly is important.”

The risers will also improve how the groups look and sound. “With more students on the risers, the curved shape and levels of the risers accentuate an ensemble focal point, improving the overall sound,” added Chamberlain.

“This was a significant expense and exceeded what we typically spend in a single school year,” added Bell. “However, with the support of the JCHS parents at our fundraisers and events, we were able to help purchase these much-needed risers, which will be utilized by JCHS performers for years to come.”