Three Weedsport Jr.-Sr. High School students are preparing to take their talents on the road! Noah Hickok, Forrest Nguyen and Madeleine Christopher will be traveling to Ithaca College next month to participate in the Area All-State Festival. The students were chosen for tenor/bass and treble choirs.
“Last time I went to all-county I met a senior who taught me a lot about voice stuff in a really short time,” said Madeleine Christopher. “It’s just cool to interact with people that you otherwise wouldn’t.”
Area All-State is put on by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). The state is split up into zones by county. Noah, Forrest and Madeleine will join students from Broome, Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Seneca-Tompkins and Tioga counties.
The festival will take place on February 4th and 5th at Ithaca College. Day one will be made up of rehearsal and on day two, students will rehearse for the hours leading up to their concert. Each student is tasked with learning 4-5 songs for the performance. They’ve had the music for about one month so far.
“The director is always really knowledgeable; you definitely learn a lot in the time you’re there,” added Noah Hickok, when asked what he’s looking forward to.
Noah will also be participating in the All-National Honor Ensemble starting this weekend, January 22nd-24th. The virtual event begins with a rehearsal via Zoom, where the director will be involved to ensure everyone is on the same page. Then, students will complete their final recording on their own and send it in to be put together as one performance.