Members of the VanDevender Middle School sixth grade band perform Thursday during the school’s final Spring Choir and Band Concert. The school will shutter its doors at the end of this school year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — VanDevender Middle School held its final Spring Choir and Band Concert Thursday night in the school’s gym.

The school will shut its doors for good at the end of this school year.

“It’s special for everybody. This is the last time we will perform together. Ever,” Choir Director Meaghan Hawn said.

The concert featured past directors Cody Ratliff, Marsha Parsons and Caryl Stines playing the piano, along with band directors Shaun Davis and Sheila Wiseman.

“We wanted to make sure we recognized all the past directors and conductors,” Hawn said.

Janelle Morris, front center, performs a solo during the VanDevender Middle School sixth-grade Choir’s rendition of the Moana song “How Far I’ll Go” Thursday as the middle school held its final Spring Choir and Band Concert before the school shutters its doors for good at the end of the school year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

She said each director picked pieces that hold special meaning from their careers while choir members themselves selected their own repertoire, with each group choosing a pop song they wanted to perform.

Choir members Addison Gaston, Natalie Salizzoni and Alexandra Mackey said they have been preparing since January, dedicating three months to perfecting their performance.

“We do a lot of vocal exercises,” Salizzoni said.

Gaston said remembering the things they’ve learned is also a big part of preparing to perform.

“And fixing little things before they get too big,” Gaston said.

Former VanDevender Middle School Choir Director Cody Ratliff practices in a hallway before the final Spring Choir and Band Concert before the school closes its doors forever at the end of the year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

The group said preparation isn’t all serious, though, as they incorporate fun games like cards and musical challenges to keep rehearsals engaging. They said a highlight of their preparation was working with past directors, including Ratliff, their assistant principal.

“When he gets into music, he’s a whole different person,” Salizzoni said. “And it was a really good experience.”

Hawn said a particularly moving moment was expected to be the combined performance of the Alma Mater by the band and choir, which will be sung for the last time in the school’s historic halls.

“Performing the Alma Mater will be super special,” Hawn said.

Salizzoni, who also plays flute in the band, said working together with the band was an important part of the preparations.

Former VanDevender Middle School Choir Director Cody Ratliff directs the combined sixth, seventh and eighth grade choirs Thursday as the school performed its final Spring Choir and Band Concert before the school shutters its doors for good at the end of the school year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“The choir and bands, we all have to work as a team,” Salizzoni said. “If we don’t work together, then the whole thing falls apart. We build friendships and become like a family over time.”

The school will close its doors to students for the final time next month but a community walkthrough is scheduled for June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. for those who wish to walk the halls one more time.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

VanDevender Middle School choir member Addison Gaston, Director Meaghan Hawn and choir members Natalie Salizzoni and Alexandra Mackey pose for a picture Thursday night before the middle school’s final Spring Choir and Band Concert. The school will shutter its doors at the end of this school year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)