Late El Dorado High School instructor to be honored Sunday
Friends, former students invited to attend memorial ceremony
Former students and friends of late vocal music instructor William Ray “Bill” Trego will honor Trego with a stone bench and memorial plaque at 1 p.m. Sunday at El Dorado High School, 2000 Wildcat Drive.
Trego died March 11 in Concord, Massachusetts, from multiple health issues. He was 87.
All friends and former students are invited to the memorial ceremony.
The bench will be placed near the entrance of the EHS Auditorium. A commemorative photo will be taken.
Trego is credited for his tremendous contributions to EHS’s vocal music/choral program, building the Oratorio and Madrigal singing groups into two of the best high school choirs in Arkansas and the nation.
In 1954, he received his master’s degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
Trego and his wife Patty then moved to El Dorado, where he launched his teaching career at EHS.
Under eight years of his tutelage, the EHS Oratorio Singers — a mixed choir that included lettermen from various sports and EHS student leaders — became widely recognized for their exceptional sound and vocal abilities.
To join the Oratorio Singers, students underwent competitive auditions that evaluated their vocal ability and musical knowledge.
A select few were admitted to the Madrigal Singers. Many choir members voluntarily attended summer school to learn the musical selections so they could concentrate on vocal phrasing, dynamics and the emotional content of the music while in class during the regular school year.
In 1963, the choirs were invited to perform at the
Convention of American School Administrators in
Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The group recorded an LP album, which, coupled with donations, funded the trip.
Two years later, the groups traveled to Oklahoma City to perform at the National Educator’s Convention.
The choirs consistently received “superior” ratings during competitions and subsequent EHS students and choral directors have worked to maintain that tradition.
Some of the performances from the 1962-63 Oratorio Singers LP album can be heard on YouTube by searching “1963 Oratorio Singers.”
In 1966, Bill and Patty Trego moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where Bill Trego taught choral music at Princeton High School for 28 years and at Princeton University for 20 years.
During his tenure at Princeton High School, Bill Trego, along with associate choir director Nancianne Parrella, built another award-winning choir that accepted invitations to perform throughout North America and Europe.
In later years, former students continued to seek out Bill Trego and chronicle their memories with a Facebook page, titled, “We love William Trego.”
According to information posted on the Facebook page, a collaborative memorial concert with the Princeton High School and Princeton University choirs has been scheduled for Nov. 17 at Princeton University Chapel.