WICHITA, Kan. — The Junction City High School Chamber Choir has been selected to perform in February at the Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA) in-service workshop at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita.
This important annual event gathers speakers, performers, and vendors who represent the best of music education throughout the state of Kansas, according to Junction City High School Vocal Music Director Casey Guthals Hageman.
“The Junction City High School Chamber Choir was one of seven high school choirs in the state of Kansas selected to perform at the in-service workshop, distinguishing Junction City High School’s Chamber Choir from other prominent and remarkable programs around the state,” Guthals Hageman said.
At the workshop, students will have the unique opportunity to perform for many of Kansas’ esteemed educators, performers, and clinicians. In addition, they will have the advantage of being able to network with other performers, post-secondary personnel, and recruiters to explore their options following graduation.
The Chamber Choir students were given four weeks to assemble the “Beatitudes” by Hawes, an eight-movement piece that has been described as a “range from uncomplicated to militaristic.” Simultaneously, they were tasked with mastering “MPIP!!” by Guillaume, a Haitian-Creole language song, with a theme that translates to “life is beautiful when you love one another.”
We are incredibly proud of our students’ determination to not only learn, but skillfully perform high-quality music with precision and sensitivity,” Guthals Hageman said.
The Chamber Choir has previously received Superior ratings (I) for the past five years at the Large Group Contest. Additionally, 14 members of the Chamber Choir will be representing the program in the KMEA All-State Ensemble, with four students being selected as alternates.
“This is a direct result of our students taking pride in their musicianship,” Junction City High School Music Director Michael Brown said. “Our young people are not only amazing singers but incredible people who demonstrate integrity every day. We are proud of our Blue Jays.”
The workshop will take place from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26. Parents and community members may watch the Chamber Choir’s performance on Friday, Feb. 25 at 2:45 p.m. in the Hyatt Eagle Ballroom D-H.
The Chamber Choir students include:
- Daphne Brown
- Kylie Brown
- Tavon Burks
- Mahkayla Cole
- Caden Collette
- Jay Diestelkamp
- Daithon Dowling
- Cassidy Eschliman
- Skylar Fisher
- Samarra Fisk
- Riley Gaer
- Haley Gates
- William Gates
- Gavin Green
- Caden Groves
- Lucasey Hammock
- Riley Hansen
- Matthan Harley
- Nevaeh Henderson
- Lauren June
- Marta June
- Madison Korp
- Kylee Lightle
- Raven McKinney
- Koralys Muniz-Lorenzo
- Ramone Newey
- Timothy Nguyen
- Sean Powers
- Serentiy Riddick
- Kayleighann Robertson-Gomez
- Gavid Rosenboom
- Johnny Rushing, Jr.
- John Seamans
- Damarion Sellers
- Isaiah Smith
- Keegan Smith
- Kaya Sparks
- Emma Stoner
- Madeline Vande Riet
- Shane Voelcker
- Grace Welsh
- Lolly Winsor
- Emily Wolfe
