GOLDSBORO — Wayne Community College hosted 156 students from 11 middle schools across North Carolina for the first ever Middle School Honors Choir Festival.
Students spent the day rehearsing with WCC Music Instructors Jonathan Saeger and Randi Chalfant before they performed in a mass choir concert for parents, friends, teachers, and WCC employees.
“I am so grateful that we were able to give the middle school choirs and directors this opportunity,” Saeger said. “I hope the students were inspired to go back to school and share their experiences with others.”
Special guest clinicians Andy Beck and Dr. Rue Lee Holmes rehearsed with the students throughout the day as well. Beck, a nationally known composer/arranger, worked with the young singers on one of his arrangements. Holmes, former North Carolina Music Educators Association chair of general music, taught the students body percussion exercises during rehearsals that she shared with the audience during the concert.
WCC’s choir sang the opening musical selection before being joined by the middle school choir directors to perform a song under the direction of Chalfant. The middle school singers concluded the day by performing a variety of musical pieces conducted by Saeger.
Tiffany Kilgore, Norwayne Middle School choral director, said she plans on making WCC’s Middle School Honors Choir Festival an annual event for her school’s music program. “It was beyond a joy for us to be part of, and my students will remember this moment at WCC for years to come.”
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves around 10,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 150 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.