SCS Unveils New Alma Mater - New School Song Titled Forever Blue

SCHOHARIE - A new alma mater has been unveiled at Schoharie Central School.

"Forever Blue," a combination of the music by Thomas LaVoy and lyrics by the students in Carrie Styles' Rudiments of Music Class, is the new school song and will be sung at the Scho-Burgh games against Middleburgh this week.

The students in the district's high school University in the High School music class worked with a composer that the Board of Education approved last year to create the new alma mater. 

"The title 'Forever Blue' was well received as were the lyrics and new alma mater as a whole, Superintendent David Blanchard said. "Mrs. Styles and her students did an exceptional job and the lyrics capture our school and the surrounding community extraordinarily well. The Leading Tones performance before the board meeting was moving."

After students sang the alma mater before Thursday's board meeting, Ms. Styles said the lyrics take into account, "The whole past of Schoharie."

"It will probably never be sung better," Superintendent Blanchard said Thursday.

Forever Blue

Over hills and valleys green, 

worked by many hands, 

we come together, pride unmatched, 

our call heard through the lands. 

Like our school upon the hill, 

standing firm and strong, 

when wars or rushing waters rise, 

join us in our song:

Schoharie is our noble name, 

our hearts, forever blue! 

This anthem rings out loud and clear, 

though far or near, we're true.

Last year’s UHS Rudiments of Music class brainstormed and wrote the lyrics for the new Alma Mater, Ms. Styles said. 

"The change of our mascot precipitated a change in our school song. The school district decided to hire Thomas LaVoy, an American composer to write the song. We had worked with him previously when we commissioned a piece for our high school choir. We were so happy with his work that we thought he’d be the right person to compose the new Alma mater. I worked with him throughout the process to give him an idea of what we were looking for and the final product was better than we could have imagined. He wanted to know about the area and its people and about the things we value as a community. He also asked about musical devices and if there was anything specific we were looking for. Thomas composed a piece individually catered to our beautiful, resilient and hardworking community while honoring the traditional musical qualities of a typical Alma Mater."

She added, "After a discussion about the qualities of our community, the UHS class went through several variations of text before deciding on the final lyrics. It was important to the students, the district administration and myself that we honor all of the people that have called Schoharie home," Ms. Styles added.

"There was a lot of conversation about the beauty of the Schoharie Valley and how we could speak to that through the lyrics. It was also important to the students to acknowledge blue as one of the school colors. We discussed the historic and current importance of agriculture in our region. Finally the resilience of our community, which is alluded to in the second verse, was also a priority to the students.

"We’re very excited to have a new school song, with lyrics written by SCS students in collaboration with a living American composer."

The new school song is the second major change in SCS tradition as the school mascot was changed last year form the Indian to the Storm.

After the revered Schoharie Indian mascot was given the boot by the state, school officials decided to rework the alma mater.

Last summer Schoharie school board members listened to plans to replace the current alma mater with a new one fashioned by a professional composer. 

With the change of the mascot and imagery, the alma mater had to be next, Mr. Blanchard said last summer.

He said he spoke with members of the music department about having department members and students rewrite the song. It was hoped to rewrite the song "in house" but music department members they felt that needed some "extra expertise" and an outside composer was needed.

In past years, there have been periodic attempts to change the SCS alma mater which once read, “how the white men won the warfare on the Indian trail.” White man was changed to wise man a few years ago, and other changes have been made.

It should be noted that the old alma mater has not been sung at graduation for several years.