IMEA All State Choir Particpants Announced
January 28, 2008
Five
members of the Princeton High School Music Department have been
selected to participate in the annual Illinois Music
Educators All-State Conference student performing
organizations in Peoria, Illinois, Wednesday January
30-Saturday, February 2 2008: Kirsten Andersen,
daughter of Curtis Andersen and Mary Kramer; Justin Bullington, son
of Mike and Audrey Bullington; Gwen Holmes, daughter of
Everett and Vickie Holmes; Laura Krabill, daughter Elvin and
Connie Krabill; and Ada Kunkel, daughter of Ed and Peggy
Kunkel.
Seniors Laura Krabill, Soprano I; Ada Kunkel, Alto I; and Justin
Bullington, Tenor I, will be singing in the All-State Chorus under
the direction of Dr. Mary Hopper, Professor of Choral Music and
Conducting at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, Wheaton
Illinois. Dr. Hopper conducts both the Men’s Glee club and
the Women’s Chorale at Wheaton. She is an active conductor,
educator, and clinician; who has taught public school music in the
Chicago area in addition to her teaching at the university
level.
Dr. Hopper has selected a varied program for the All-State Chorus
students. The women of the All-State Chorus will sing
“Morning Moon, Philip W. Silvey, and the men of the All-State
Chorus will sing “Exsultate justi in Domino”, Brant Adams. Mixed
chorus selections include “Kasar Mie La Gaji” (“the earth is
tired”), Alberto Grau; the All-State Selection “Let their celestial
concerts unite” (from the Oratorio “Samson”), George Frederic
Handel; “Sorida” (“A Zimbabwe Greeting”); and “Wondrous Cool, thou
woodland quiet” (“Waldesnacht, du Wunderkuehle”), Johannes
Brahms.
Accompanist for the All-State Chorus is Sherilyn Monkmeier,
accompanist for the Lyons Township High School Choral Music
Department, La Grange, Illinois. Percussion Ensemble students
of Dr. Wally Parks, Instrumental Music Director, Metamora High
School, Metamora Illinois will accompany the All-State Chorus on
“Sorida”.
Senior Kirsten Andersen, Soprano II, and Junior Gwen Holmes Alto I,
will be singing in the All-State Honors Chorus under the
direction of Dr. Z. Randall Stroope, Director of Choral Studies at
Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. Dr. Stroope is also
Artistic Director and conductor of two international summer music
festivals, one in England and the other in Italy. In addition to
his conducting engagements throughout the United States and around
the world, Dr. Stroope is an active composer and arranger, having
published 85 musical works.
The women of the honors chorus will sing “The Snow”, Opus 26, No. 1, Edward Elgar, and the men of the Honors Chorus will sing “Danny boy”, arranged Z. Randall Stroope.
The mixed repertoire for the All-State Honors Chorus includes”And then shall yuour light break forth, from “Elijah”, Felix Mendelssohn; “The Conversion of Saul”, Z. Randall Stroope; “Sarba pe scaun” (Sarba dance on a chair) from Suita scurta, Alexandru Pascanu; and “Tue es Petrus”: from Quatre Motets, Maurice Durufle.
Accompanist for the Honors Chorus is William Buhr, College of Du Page, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Auxiliary instrumentalist for “Danny Boy” is Blake Duncan, Oboe, Bradley University Music Faculty. Auxiliary instrumentalists for “The Snow” are Marcia Henry-Liebenow, Violin 1, Bradley University Music Faculty, and Jeffrey Schmidgall, Violin 2, Bradley University Music Student.
Choral students earn participation in one of the two All-State Choruses based upon their individual rankings within their section for their district chorus. This ranking occurs after a stringent audition in the following areas: performance of prepared selections, vocal tonal skills and sight-reading in October 2007, and by participation in the district festival’s day of rehearsal and evening performance
About
10,000 Junior and Senior students participated in IMEA district
all-day festivals presented during the first three weekends in
November 2007 in the nine geographic districts throughout the state
of Illinois. From that number only 1,200 Senior High students
were chosen for membership in one of ten performing organizations
at the 2008 IMEA All-State Conference.
The PHS All-State students will experience three days of intensive
choral and instrumental rehearsals which will culminate in two
concerts Saturday afternoon, February 2 in the Peoria Civic Center
Arena. The All-State Organizations Concert is at 1:00 P.M.
and the Honors Organizations Concert is at 3:15 P.M. The concerts
are general admission, tickets $5.00.
A grand finale of each concert will be the 2008 All-State Combined
Selection “America, The Beautiful”, Katherine Lee Bates/Samuel
Augustus Ward, arranged Carmen Dragon. Joy E. Schertz,
Princeton High School Choral Director, and IMEA Chorus Division
Vice-President, will serve as lead
conductor. Assisting will be Deborah Shofner, Kimball Middle
School, Band Division Vice-President and Kendall Hastings, Rolling
Meadows High School, Orchestra Division Vice-President.
In addition to the music education and festival experience for
outstanding Illinois high school musicians, the 2007 IMEA All-State
Conference has many outstanding professional development
opportunities for music educators at all levels: pre-school through
university, collegiate through retired, general music through
performance ensemble. Multiple CPDU Re-Certification
Credit
Sessions will be offered in the areas of Band, Chorus, Orchestra,
Jazz, and Junior High-Elementary Music, Secondary General Music and
Higher Education, as well as many Special Areas including
Technology, Multi-Cultural, Research, Special Learners and Early
Childhood. Jennifer Abernathy
currently serves the IMEA as District II Professional Development
Representative.
For more information, contact Joy E. Schertz, PHS Choral Director
or Jennifer
Abernathy, PHS Instrumental Director at (815) 875-3308.
