All-State Elementary Musicians Perform in Wichita

Out of 810 auditions, just 160 musicians were chosen to perform with the Kansas All-State Elementary Choir on the Century II stage in Wichita on February 21, 2019.

Two Fort Scott fifth graders were included in that performance.

Eugene Ware Elementary fifth graders Elsie Hurd and Analiese Rupprecht were selected to perform with some of the best elementary singers in the state through an audition process.

Mary Jo Harper, 3-5th Grade Music Educator at Eugene Ware recorded several student auditions and submitted them to be adjudicated last semester.

Elsie and Ana were notified they had made the All-State Elementary Choir in December, meaning they had just eight weeks of school to prepare and memorize music for the concert.

This is the fourth year students have had the opportunity to audition for the All-State Elementary Choir.

This year’s clinician was internationally-recognized choral conductor Henry Leck.

Students prepare music on their own between December and February, then come together for just five hours of rehearsal before performing as the opening concert for the Kansas Music Educator’s Association In-Service Workshop–a yearly event that consists of three days of professional development for music educators and ends with performances from high school All-State Ensembles: Band, Orchestra, and Choir.

Joining Elsie and Ana in Wichita were FSHS musicians Johnathan Gauthier, Aztreia Milton, Levi Bin, Mary Gladbach, and Madi Toth.

Submitted by MJ Harper, 620-719-6633, [email protected]