The choir festival brings together high school students from Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Treble and mixed choirs will be featured.
High school students from Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota will perform during Wayne State College’s Festival of Honor Choirs concert at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, in Ramsey Theatre, located in the Peterson Fine Arts Building. Admission is $5 for adults with free admission for children 12 years of age or under.
The concert will also be livestreamed. The program will be accessible by selecting the event from the Upcoming Music Events list.
The concert features a treble choir and mixed choir. Participants were selected based on audition. Throughout the day, students study technique and practice repertoire for the concert. The festival emphasizes challenging repertoire, healthy vocal technique, ensemble blend, and collaborative music-making.
The treble choir will be conducted by Celeste Ditter, vocal music teacher at Columbus (Nebraska) Middle School, with piano accompaniment by Dr. Angela Miller-Niles, professor of piano at Wayne State.
Dr. Matthew Armstrong, director of choral activities at Wayne State, will conduct the mixed choir, with piano accompaniment by Shelly Armstrong, Wayne State’s collaborative pianist.
Repertoire highlights include the hauntingly expressive Scottish folk melody “Skye Boat Song.” The uplifting and energetic “Over in Glory Land,” arranged by Moses Hogan, will feature the father/son trumpet duo of Dr. David Bohnert, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Wayne State, and Aidan Bohnert of Wayne High School; and the father/son trombone duo Michael Sindt, director of bands at Pierce High School, and Spencer Sindt of Pierce High School. The joyful Jewish folk song, “Hava Nagila,” will feature Dr. Karl Kolbeck, professor of woodwinds at Wayne State, on clarinet with four-hand piano accompaniment.
Wayne State student Ryan Johnson of Doniphan, Neb., will provide percussion on “Over in Glory Land” and “Hava Nagila.”
A second day of Honor Choir will be held April 15, featuring a music theatre choir.
For more information, contact the Wayne State Department of Music at 402-375-7359.