Banner Year for NAHS Choral Program
It has been another successful year for the students involved in the choral program at Nazareth Area High School marking more milestones for the program.
Eleven NAHS students successfully auditioned into the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 10 Festival in October. Out of 65 school districts who had students audition, Nazareth ranked fourth in having the highest representation. The PMEA District 10 Chorus Festival was held at Blue Mountain High School from January 25th-27th with Dr. Samuel Barbara from Westminster College as the guest conductor. Nazareth students were: Brendan Alvino, Franziska Bernsdorf, Ethan Doyle, Mary Doyle, Hailey Durner, Toni Facciponti, Steven Fuquay, Kelly Oakley, Dominick Philip, Jessica Powell and Joshua Richter.
One-half of the 220 members of the District 10 Chorus moved onto the Region V Choir. Nazareth had seven students successfully audition onto the next level which is one of the highest numbers ever. The Region V Chorus Festival was held at Annville-Cleona High School from March 1st - 3rd with Mr. Jeffrey Kern from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia as the guest conductor. The seven Nazareth students were: Franziska Bernsdorf, Mary Doyle, Hailey Durner, Toni Facciponti, Kelly Oakley, Dominick Philip and Joshua Richter.
The next goal is to gain acceptance into the PMEA All-State Chorus. To put things in perspective, there are 26 students on each voice part at the Region level (Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Tenor 1, Tenor 2, etc) and the top six move onto All-State. The audition is grueling: a student walks into the audition room, is given a pitch, and is expected to sing a portion of music. Granted this music has been prepared prior to the audition, but walking in cold and doing the portion a cappella is very nerve racking. From the seven NAHS students, two successfully made it through: Mary Doyle – ranked 1st on Alto 1; Toni Facciponti – ranked 1st on Alto 2. This is the first time that Nazareth has seen not one but two students be ranked first moving onto States.
Toni Facciponti, Senior, says "PMEA Festivals give such a unique opportunity for students to meet and work with amazing people they might not have met otherwise. I’m so grateful to have such an amazing director who pushes us to be our best and always improve, and getting to the all-state level is such an honor. This will be my eighth and final festival and I’m so excited to see my friends and put together an amazing concert!"
Junior, Mary Doyle, says, “I’m so excited to have qualified for the All-State festival this year! It has been an amazing experience to work with conductors from all over the country. I’ve loved meeting so many talented people, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store at states this year!"
The All-State students will spend many hours rehearsing and refining music with guest conductor, Dr. Paul D. Head, Unidel Distinguish Professor of Choral Studies at the University of Delaware. The choir will present a concert on Saturday, April 21st at the J.P. McCaskey High School Auditorium in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at 5:00 PM.
The All-State Chorus festival runs in conjunction with the PMEA Conference for music teachers. The conference runs from Thursday, April 19th through Saturday, April 21st at the Lancaster Marriott and Convention Center. Music educators from across the state converge for an invigorating and insightful conference that will offer opportunities to sit in on sessions presented by music educators, reading sessions where teachers have the opportunity to peruse repertoire together, round table discussions, music education research presentations, and also a chance to explore the exhibits which features a wide array of music education vendors.
