The story of "Phoenix Blue"

     Many individuals have gone through the music department at Ripley High School. The choir department has been a place that many people have called "home" over the years.Many school systems have seen the impact of the pandemic on the performing arts in particular- dropping what was once three choirs into one choir that barely scraped 20 members.

     In 1982, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was a show choir that took the stage and turned heads. After a name modification and a change in leadership, the choir would thrive until it's final year in 2004. Between the outstanding concert choir and "Blue Persuasion", Ripley was a force to be reckoned with. 

     After a push for consistency between the classes offered at Ravenswood and Ripley, Show Choir was put back onto the program of study. Ravenswood's "Rave Review" has a similar legacy of top-notch music education opportunities- and it became time to at least offer it to our students. What we thought would take years, began in that moment.

Interest ignited. 

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     Students began inquiring and registering for show choir. Many didn't know how to sign-up for the class because they didn't see the class listed- because it was listed under "Blue Persuasion". Although that name is everything to some, our students aren't aware of what came before- yet. The students who went through the audition process know that this is the first year of the ensemble- and it will block what would be the 20th year silenced. The road of advocacy will be long and they will be putting in the ground work to bring back what once was- but for their own namesake. If only fumes of someone else's memories could be the momentum needed, "Blue Persuasion" would work. The mythical phoenix is a bird that is known for a death of combustion, only to be birthed again from it's parent's ashes. We found it only fitting to be called "Phoenix Blue"