The following information is from the South Orange – Maplewood School District.
Two Columbia High School chorus students were selected to sing in different National Honor Choruses this year.
Ali Pease
Senior Alexandra Pease, who also starred as Mother in the recent CHS production of Ragtime, was the top-scoring Soprano in the NJ All-State Chorus and was therefore selected out of a pool of thousands to sing with the National Association for Music Educators National Honor Chorus 2014 in the fall at the national convention in Nashville, TN. She sings with the Excelsior Singers of Columbia High School.
“When my audition tape for Nationals was accepted, I was unbelievably excited to be able to go to Nashville,” said Pease. “The NJ all-state kids are already so amazing that I could only imagine what it would be like to perform with the top people in the country. And wow, it was crazy and so humbling. Everyone I met was ridiculously skilled and came from such varied backgrounds and levels of experience, but we were all there because we shared a passion for music. I can’t say enough about how wonderful it was.”
Junior Grace Savoia-DiGregorio was selected to sing with the Latin American National Honor Choir at the American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Salt Lake City, UT in February of this year. She sings with Canens Vocem, the treble chamber choir of Columbia High School.
Grace Savoia DeGregorio
“When I was chosen for the American Choral Directors Association, all I remember was how excited and surprised I was,” said Savoia-DeGregorio. “It felt so good knowing that all the hard work and energy I put into my music studies paid off.”
She continued, “The experience I have had at ACDA conferences has revolved around nothing but happiness. I have such fond memories of the times I spent singing and learning from great choral conductors. I also have become friends with many teenagers from all around the United States who have sung in these conferences.”
