Changes to Choir Structure
The High School Honor Choir will include up to 100 singers in total. Final numbers will be decided depending on the number of students auditioning and the overall standard of auditions throughout all voice parts. The combined choir will perform 5 works, 3 of which will be prepared for the audition.
The top 32 auditionees, in addition to being members of the combined High School Honor Choir, will also be a part of a smaller chamber choir and will perform 2 additional works on their own. These works will not be a part of the audition but will be prepared by the students involved before the event.
During the time that the conductor will be working with the smaller chamber ensemble, the remaining singers may be participating in conference interest sessions and/or observing the chamber choir rehearsal.
The top 32 auditionees, in addition to being members of the combined High School Honor Choir, will also be a part of a smaller chamber choir and will perform 2 additional works on their own. These works will not be a part of the audition but will be prepared by the students involved before the event.
During the time that the conductor will be working with the smaller chamber ensemble, the remaining singers may be participating in conference interest sessions and/or observing the chamber choir rehearsal.
Registration schedule
|
ASAP September 13 November 16 December 16 Further information |
Register early as a teacher to receive early discounts. Teacher registration must be completed before registering students for the event. To register, please click on the link above. Registration DEADLINE for Auditions (please see Audition requirements below). Please register your students for auditions using the link above. Audition Free: $35 per school regardless of how many students audition. Any cancellations should be emailed to Dan Hughes as soon as possible. hughes_r@wvwc.edu Audition date Auditions will be held at WV Wesleyan College - 59 College Ave, Buckhannon, WV 26201 Teachers are advised, via e-mail, the students who have been accepted into the chorus. Student Registration Due. Registration forms will be available after the results are announced. One School Form required per school AND one Student Medical Form per student. Please print the Medical Form 2-sided and send it before the registration deadline. Please note that medical forms no longer need to be notarized. Cost: $55 per student, not including hotel Please email questions to Jeremiah Smallridge - jsmallridge@k12.wv.us All Checks should be sent to the following address: Buckhannon-Upshur High School C/O Jeremiah Smallridge 270 BU Drive Buckhannon, WV 26201 
| ||||
Audition Requirements
Audition Fee: $35 per school regardless of how many students audition.
Students will be required to learn 4 pieces for the audition.
Honor Choir participation Fee: $55 per student. Due December 16
Audition pieces to be prepared:
Shout For Joy!, Dan Davison
I Will Be a Child of Peace, Traditional Shaker Hymn, arr. Elaine Hagenberg, ed. Dan Forrest
He'll Make a Way, Byron J. Smith
Domine ad adjuvandum me festina, G.B. Martini
In addition to preparing the 4 set pieces from the repertoire, the students will be asked to sight read one example, prepare minor scales, and clap two given rhythms, one in simple meter, and one in compound meter.
Students will be required to learn 4 pieces for the audition.
Honor Choir participation Fee: $55 per student. Due December 16
Audition pieces to be prepared:
Shout For Joy!, Dan Davison
I Will Be a Child of Peace, Traditional Shaker Hymn, arr. Elaine Hagenberg, ed. Dan Forrest
He'll Make a Way, Byron J. Smith
Domine ad adjuvandum me festina, G.B. Martini
In addition to preparing the 4 set pieces from the repertoire, the students will be asked to sight read one example, prepare minor scales, and clap two given rhythms, one in simple meter, and one in compound meter.
- Sight-reading: Sight-reading examples will be generated using Sight-Reading Factory. The sight-reading example for each voice part will be the same for each student. The student will be given the starting pitch and the major triad.
- Minor Scales: The student is to prepare all forms of the minor scale – natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor. They should be prepared to ask for a starting pitch for the octave they find most comfortable to sing (if they do not request a specific pitch, they will hear the pitch C). They will hear their pitch only once before beginning, and should sing all three scales successively in the aforementioned order. They may use whatever system they are familiar with to sing these scales, and will be scored solely on the accuracy of their pitches.
- Rhythm: The student will be given two examples. One in simple meter and one in compound meter. The rhythm is to be clapped at a given tempo. Students may count out loud as they clap the rhythm using whatever system of counting they are familiar with. Each example will be 4 – 5 measures long.
| cantate_domino.pdf |
Repertoire
Full Ensemble:
Shout for Joy – Dan Davison (Walton Music) SATB, piano WW1388
Domine ad Adjuvandumme Festina – GB Martini, ed. Castellini (Concordia Publishing House) SATB, piano, soloists 976304 / 1958
Nyon, Nyon – Jake Runestad (Jake Runestad Music) SATB, a cappella JR0007
I Will be a Child of Peace - Hagenberg SATB, piano Beckonhorst Press CU1023
He’ll Make a Way – arr. Byron T. Smith (Onyx Music Publishing) SATB, soloist(s), piano, drums BJS0001
Chamber Ensemble:
Cantate Domino – Hans Leo Hassler, ed. Rafael Ornes – CPDL SATB a cappella Follow link above to download copy.
Down to the River to Pray - Philip Lawson (Hal Leonard) SATTBB, a cappella 08744684
2022 Conductor: Karen Kenaston-French
Karen Kenaston-French is in her 11th year as Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas Arlington, where she conducts the A Cappella Choir, teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting, and heads the Vocal Area. Under her direction the UTA A Cappella Choir has performed at TMEA, SWACDA, and national ACDA conventions and has made appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Ballet Theatre, the Fort Worth Chorale, and the Rolling Stones. Prior to her arrival at UTA, Dr. Kenaston-French served as Director of Choral Activities at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where she led the Chamber Singers in two appearances at the Tennessee Music Education Association state conference, and in master classes with Chanticleer, Cantus, and Libby Larsen. She taught conducting at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas, and was director of music ministries at Plymouth Park United Methodist Church in Irving, Texas from 1986-1998. Dr. Kenaston-French has been guest conductor for choirs in Colorado, Michigan and Tennessee, for numerous TMEA region choirs, for the American Festival of the Arts (AFA), and is a frequent clinician and adjudicator of high school choirs across the state. She serves as artistic director of the highly successful All-State Choir Camp, One Last Look Workshop, and the Area Workshop at UTA, which collectively attract more than 500 students each year. She continues to share her experience in church music as a faculty member for SMU’s Church Music Summer Seminar and as clinician for church choirs. Beginning with the 2019-2020 season Dr. Kenaston-French will take over as Artistic Director/Conductor of the Ft. Worth Chorale, following Jerry McCoy as only the fifth conductor in the organization’s 56-year history. Dr. Kenaston-French holds a B.A. in vocal performance from West Virginia Wesleyan College, M.M. and M.S.M. degrees in choral conducting from Southern Methodist University, and a D.M.A. in choral conducting from the University of North Texas, where she was named outstanding graduate student in conducting and ensembles and the Pi Kappa Lambda outstanding doctoral student. She studied conducting with Jerry McCoy, Mel Ivey, Lloyd Pfautsch, Jane Marshall, and Larry Parsons, and in 2011 was a conductor for the Choral/Orchestral Master Class of the Oregon Bach Festival, under Helmut Rilling and Jeffrey Kahane. Vocal studies include graduate work with Lynn Eustis at UNT and Linda Baer at SMU. Her article “The Teachings of Jean‐Antoine Bérard” was published in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Journal of Singing in November 2009. She sang in the Dallas Symphony Chorus from 1993-2003, and was selected by national audition to sing in the first Robert Shaw Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall in 1991
Rehearsal Notes
Coming soon!