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The Clarkesville Pops makes their debut tour of Northeast Georgia, starting in Fender’s Alley. Back row (left to right) are Gabriel Laitenbach, Fox Grey and Drew Burns. Front row are Kiah Langston, Kota Langston and Charlie Freeman. JUSTIN FREEMAN/Submitted
The Clarkesville Pops are Habersham County’s premier homeschool music ensemble. They meet for rehearsal at the School of Future Arts in Clarkesville and are conducted by Justin Freeman.
The average age of the performers is 11. The band consists of a drummer (Kota Langston, 8) two guitarists (Kiah Langston and Charlie Freeman, 9 and 10), a trumpet (Gabriel Kaltenback, 14), Bass guitar (Fox Gray, 14) and a pianist (Drew Burns, 14). The players auditioned for limited spots in the group last December. On April 21, the Pops kicked off their Northeast Georgia tour at Fender’s Alley in Cornelia to much praise from an enthusiastic packed house. They played a mix of popular songs from The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect.”
The pops will be playing three more shows in the area. The next show is at the Grant Street Music Room (beside the bowling alley) on May 5 at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Sautee-Nacoochee Cultural Center on Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m., and last at Pitts Park on Saturday, June 3, at 6:30 p.m.
“I’m really proud of how our performers played today, and I think a group like this is a big step forward for homeschoolers. We’re striving to make sure that our thriving homeschool community has access to quality extra-curricular and exploratory classes without having to depend on government programs,” Freeman said.
The School of Future Arts offers classes to students of all ages (homeschoolers and otherwise) in music, coding, and digital arts and is on the Clarkesville square.