C.J. Gish
Eight students from Wiles Elementary School were recently selected as Florida All-State chorus and Orff musicians and will be performing in the Tampa Convention Center early next year.
According to an Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) press release, the students successfully auditioned for the highly-select ensembles. The All-State Elementary Chorus consists of 163 students from public, charter and private schools throughout Florida. The All-State Off Ensemble is made up of only 78 students statewide.
“I’m very proud of all of our Wiles musicians,” Wiles Elementary music teacher Carrie Olson said in the release. “They worked extremely hard to prepare for their auditions.”
The chorus auditions included performing a vocal warm-up, tonal melodies, a partner song, and a prepared song, ‘Dona Nobis Pacem,’ which was performed a cappella (without accompaniment).
The All-State chorus students are Quinn Curchy, Louisa McGargill, Race Neupane and Anabelle Vilaro. This is the second year McCargill and Curchy have been selected to the All-State Chorus.
For the Orff ensemble, students sang a round and maintain their own part, perform a prepared piece on the alto xylophone, and perform a body percussion piece which included speech and a series of fast stomp, clap, pat and snap patterns.
The All-State Orff students are Kayla Lenius, Claire Olson, Fiona Xu and Jessica Zou. This is also the second year that Xu has earned All-State honors.
“I think this audition process in itself has been a huge life lesson for many of them,” Olson said. “It’s so awesome to see how happy the students are with themselves when they go from self-doubt to mastery of technique and skill by not giving up, and then realizing that a positive mindset and perseverance is the key to their success.”
Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) sponsors the All-State programs. The ensembles will rehearse with their fellow All-state musicians and perform under the direction of professional conductors as part of the annual FMEA Professional Development Conference to be held on Jan. 11-14, 2023, in Tampa.