About 250 Students From 50 Schools Participate in February 2024 Honor Choir

More than 250 high school vocal students representing 50 high schools from Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota showcased their talent during Wayne State College’s Honor Choir concert held Feb. 2.

The concert was also livestreamed and recorded. To view the concert, visit www.wsc.edu/watch-live and click the “Watch past events here” link.

The concert featured a treble choir and mixed choir. Participants were selected based on auditions from more than 50 schools. Throughout the day, students studied technique and practiced repertoire for the concert. The treble choir was conducted by Abby Sheppard, a vocal music teacher at Sioux City East High School. The mixed choir was conducted by Dr. Matthew Armstrong, director of choral activities at Wayne State.

“This phenomenal event is such an honor to host,” said Armstrong. “Each year, we have more and more students who attend our Honor Choir concert, and the remarkable feedback we receive is helpful in planning next year’s event.”

Repertoire included “Heartland” by Gary Fry, a contemporary piece written in the style of pop artist Bruce Hornsby; “A Farewell” by Matthew and Shelly Armstrong, collaborative pianist at Wayne State, with text by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; and “The Call” by Iowa composer Adam Orban with text by George Herbert.

The choirs also joined Dr. Matthew Clegg, tenor soloist and vocal instructor at Wayne State, for the finale selection, the famous 19th century Italian piece “Funiculi, Funicula.”

“It was an absolute pleasure to have so many talented vocalists around me during this outstanding concert finale,” said Clegg. “All of these students worked extremely hard all day, and it definitely showed during the finale.”

For more information regarding music programs of study at Wayne State, contact the Wayne State Department of Music at 402-375-7359.

Students who participated in Wayne State’s Honor Choir concert are listed below by choir, vocal part, and school. Out-of-state schools are listed before Nebraska schools for each vocal part.

Mixed Honor Choir

Alto I
Kingsley-Pierson, Iowa – Paige Bobolz
Arlington – Brooke Eckhart
Battle Creek – Leah Tillman
Bloomfield – Adeline Bobby, Marissa Sahagun
Grand Island – Lauren Brown, Kennedy Miller
Hartington-Newcastle – Aaralyn Collier
Norfolk – Lydia Kent, Emily Henkel
Ralston – Kore Quimby
Stanton – Aubrey Kment
Wayne – Kenna Blecke, Olivia Hanson, Grace Junck

Alto II
Hinton, Iowa – Tristan Groves
Sioux City East, Iowa – Isabella Niles, Adalina Sachs
Arlington – Gracie Dabney, Maddie Musson
Elgin Pope John Central Catholic – Elizabeth Moser
Malcolm – Madison Pavlik
McCook – Kaizha Blase, Bridget Guenther
O’Neill – Winifred Huber
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller – Merry Day
Stanton – Mia Sherman
Wayne – Adrienne Anderson, Jordyn Clinchard, Madalyn Franta, Jacen Hasemann

Bass I
Arlington – Clayton Coe
Battle Creek – Tucker Kirby
Bloomfield – Blake Hochstein
David City Aquinas Catholic – Tate Hain
Douglas County West – Grayson Kester, Roen Murdock
Lincoln North Star – Daniel Barron, Ryan Nelson
Norfolk – Samuel Robinson
O’Neill – Travis Cooper, Kyle Stearns
Pender – Madison Bodlak
Scribner-Snyder – Garrett Hunke
Wakefield – Joaquin Chavez
Wayne – Gavin Anderson, Jacob Barner, Wanso Barner, Ceilus Ibarra, Colby Raulston
Wisner-Pilger – Mitchell Siebrandt

Bass II
Kingsley-Pierson, Iowa – Dylan Fowler
Bloomfield – Benjamin Dodge
David City Aquinas Catholic – Josiah Brezina, Nathaniel Hain, Luke Reiter
Grand Island – Armani Ewoldt
Ogallala – Kaden Walker
O’Neill – Mikah Raymond
Pender – Caleb Kelly
Schuyler Central – John Lopez
Wayne – Gabriel Armstrong, Adrian Klinetobe
Wisner-Pilger – Trey Stewart

Soprano I
Sioux City East, Iowa – Mekayla Sachs
Arlington – Kayli Praus, Kallan Reed
Battle Creek – Tylynn Aldag, Lana Tillman
Gordon-Rushville – Amara Funk
Leigh – Lillian Bunner
McCook – Haley Gilbertson, Lexie Lunders
Norfolk – Emma Boeshart
Ponca – Brooklynn Lowe
Sumner-Eddyville-Miller – Bryn Eggleston
Stanton – Chelsea Kment
Wahoo Bishop Neumann – Hallie Masek

Soprano II
Hinton, Iowa – Rachael McGaffey
Sioux City East, Iowa – Julie Person
Arlington – Corinne Crosland, Dianna Flores
Atkinson West Holt – Emerson Mlady
Ashland-Greenwood – Eboni Simpson
Battle Creek – Piper Rivest
Bloomfield – Myranda Eckmann
Columbus Lakeview – Alicia Mueller
Crofton – Leila Barta, Morgan Stevens
Douglas County West – Noelle Beyl
Elkhorn North – Kallie Lindquist
Grand Island – Avery Rogers, Adeline Woods
Hartington-Newcastle – Ryell Haug
Norfolk – Carly Love
Schuyler Central – Yamilet Ortiz Alvarez
Scottsbluff – Katie Hoevet
Wakefield – Kinslee Metzler
Wausa – Sophia Wilken
Wayne – Norah Armstrong

Tenor I
Bloomfield – Evan Hollander
Douglas County West – Benji Oien
Dorchester – Ashton Jirsa
McCook – Cali Benecke
Mead – Samuel Springett
Schuyler Central – Alex Aldana
Wakefield – McKinnley Mogus
Wayne – Landen Claussen
Wisner-Pilger – Jose Ramirez

Tenor II
Hinton, Iowa – Ian Hertenstein
Arlington – Aiden Borhart
Battle Creek – Braxton Merlenbach
Bloomfield – Michael Dodge
Douglas County West – Austin Fletcher, Jack Woodward
Elgin Pope John Central Catholic – Jack Barlow
Lincoln North Star – Cameron Daniels, Christian Hoge
Pender – Peyton Conroy
Schuyler Central – Sergio Ornelas
Stanton – Aaxel Spence
Wakefield – Jackson Pommer
Wayne – Aiden Bohnert
Wisner-Pilger – Dustin Siebrandt

Treble Honor Choir

Alto I
Hinton, Iowa – Ava Townley
Sioux City East, Iowa – Tava Bergman, Eyerlin Davis, Reagan Drent
Ellsworth, Minn. – Andrea Honken
Arlington – Lillian Lang, McKenzie Lucas
Battle Creek – Presley Wolf
Bloomfield – Avery Bargman, Sydney Hochstein
Centennial (Utica) – Natalie Sams
David City Aquinas Catholic – Isabel Grady
Douglas County West – Avery Maline
Homer – Aliyah Spurrell
Leigh – Gabriel Pinkston
McCook – Avery Alley, McKenna Burns
Norfolk – Tessa Ferguson, Brynn Rusk
Ogallala – Holly Barber, Nevaeh Byers, Tylie Walker
O’Neill – Addysen Hilger
Palmer – Nevaeh Schleicher
Pender – McKenna Mullanix
Yutan – Skylar Crews

Alto II
Sioux City East, Iowa – Alondra Ramirerz-Hernandez, Hailey Robertson, Kianna Ver Steeg
Crofton – Emma Bilka
Douglas County West – Stella Higginson, Emma Toller
Dorchester – Amber Kotas
Emerson-Hubbard – Madison Miller, Savannah Overfeld
Hartington-Newcastle – Kaydence McCray
Leigh – Amaiya Ross
McCook – Ashely Huls, Abby Wagner
Mead – Allex Harmon
Neligh-Oakdale – Hailey Horstmann, Daniela Parra
Norfolk – Jade Lillenkamp, Addy Rusk
Ogallala – Felicity Rittenhouse
O’Neill – Mayan Ochidi
Pender – Ferris Swinton
Plainview – Kayce Daudt
Scribner-Snyder – Rylee Nemecek
Wakefield – Dorothy Sullivan
Wayne – Abigail Hawthorne

Soprano I
Kingsley-Pierson, Iowa – Lilly McCoy
Sioux City East, Iowa – Lillie Dobbs, Syenna Foster, Emersyn Helt, Emily Ohler
Grand Island – Tessa Bockoven
Hartington-Newcastle – Kaylee Ptak
McCook – Sophia Havard
Norfolk – Kristyn Schmidt
Ogallala – Elizabeth Moeller
Ponca – Isabella Mellick
Wakefield – Bailey Kai
Wayne – Anna Naeve
Wisner-Pilger – Camrynn Marx

Soprano II
Sioux City East, Iowa – Addalai Burback, Kailynn Collins, Vessie Downs, Cassie Finnegan, Bethany Leff
River Valley, Iowa – Melody Brewer
Atkinson West Holt – Ava Hoffman
Bloomfield – Maddie Payne
Grand Island – Katherine Johnson
Holdrege – Jessie Bronson
Columbus Lakeview – Jordyn Loeske
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge – Kassidy Koch
Leigh – Sydney Messerlie
Neligh-Oakdale – Lucille Koinzan, Ashlyn Rudolf
Norfolk – Alice Schmidt
Ogallala – Elizabeth Redden
O’Neill – Emily Sholes
Pender – Hope Springer
Plainview – Meleah Buck
Ralston – Aurora Quartoroli
Stanton – Esther Hogrefe
Wayne – Riley Olson, Sharon Vaszquez
West Point-Beemer – Taylyn Maas, Nicole Parker
Wisner-Pilger – Kirra Johnson
Yutan – Andi Nelson