Local students named to honor choirs

by Cori Hilsgen

news@thenewsleaders.com

Several St. John’s Boys’ Choir Sartell Middle School students have recently been named to the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota Honor Choir. The honor recognizes outstanding young Minnesota choral musicians.

These students include eighth-graders Dolan Binder, son of Annette and Harvey Binder, and Carter Trombley, son of Lisa and Greg Trombley; and seventh-graders Clayton Fuller, son of Peggy and Bruce Fuller, and Charlie Magnuson, son of Kimberly and Chris Magnuson.

Schools and organizations are usually limited to five students who are accepted. Boys can audition through either the St. John’s Boys’ Choir or through the school they attend, if their teacher is a member of the ACDA.

Fuller and Trombley auditioned through the Sartell Middle School, and Binder and Magnuson auditioned through the St. John’s Boys’ Choir.

The St. John’s Boys’ Choir students accepted to the ACDA choir are directed by Andrè Heywood, who is the artistic director.

Another Sartell Middle School student – eighth-grader Carter Vonderahe, son of Melinda and Adam Vonderahe – was also named to the ACDA honor choir, but he is not a member of the St. John’s Boys’ Choir.

This is Binder’s first time being named to the ACDA Honor Choir. He also plays guitar and French horn. It’s his sixth season with the St. John’s Boys’ Choir, and he sings in the Nova Voce ensemble, a group which Heywood said is for boys with changing or recently changed voices. His favorite memory is traveling with the choir to Ireland this past summer.

“The country is so green, and the people are very happy and friendly,” Binder said.

Fuller was also previously selected twice for the ACDA Children’s Honor Choir when he was in fifth and sixth grade. He also plays piano. It’s his fifth season with the St. John’s Boys’ Choir, and he sings in the Concert Choir. He will join Nova Voce in January.

“While being in Boys’ Choir, I have learned to put myself out there more and not worry as much about what people think about me,” Fuller said.

Magnuson was also previously selected to the ACDA Children’s Honor Choir when he was in sixth grade. He also plays piano and percussion. It’s his fifth season with the St. John’s Boys’ Choir, and he sings in the Concert Choir, which Heywood said is the most advanced group for treble voices.

“In St. John’s Boys’ Choir, I have learned to be more responsible and how to sing with good technique,” Magnuson said.

Trombley was also previously selected to the ACDA Boys’ Honor Choir when he was in seventh grade. He also plays piano. This is his sixth season with the St. John’s Boys’ Choir. He sings in the Concert Choir and will join Nova Voce in January. Trombley is part of this year’s leadership team.

“I have learned how to be a positive role model to other boys,” he said. “I’ve also learned how to show respect where I go.”

The ACDA offers six choirs, with about 2,300 children auditioning for 800 spots. If a child is selected, he or she is required to memorize four or five pieces for the ACDA public performance.

The students learned their pieces during rehearsal and also practiced more at home.

Members of the St. John’s Boys’ Choir rehearse between four to 14 hours each week and perform at about 30 events each season.

The ACDA seventh- and eighth-grade Boys’ Honor Choir brings together about 120 of the state’s best singers in that age range. Boys are chosen from hundreds of auditions across the state.

Heywood said he has served as both a judge for the auditions and as a conductor of the Honor Choir, so he knows the standard for selection is “extremely high.”

Other St. John’s Boys’ Choir members selected for the ACDA Honor Choir include: eighth-grader Jack Skahen, St. John’s Prep, son of Jennifer and Sean Skahen; eighth-grader Dean Rothstein, ROCORI Middle School, son of Lois and Marvin Rothstein; and seventh-grader Paul Heuer, Winsted Holy Trinity School in Lester Prairie, son of Sarah and Richard Heuer.

Heywood said these students are evidence there is great music and great teaching happening here in Central Minnesota.

This year’s ACDA public performance was held Nov. 19 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi.

Upcoming concerts for the St. John’s Boys’ Choir include the following: “Christmas at St. John’s” concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at St. John’s University and “A Ceremony of Carols” concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 and Saturday, Dec. 17 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown St. Cloud.

Two Sartell Middle School girls were also named to the ACDA seventh- and eighth-grade Honor Choir. They are eighth-graders Emma Lathe, daughter of Garrett and Holly Lathe; and Grace Radeke, daughter of Kate and Paul Radeke.

The selection of the ACDA Girls’ Honor Choir is the same process as the Boys’ Honor Choir. The audition for 800 spots includes both girls and boys.

Radeke previously participated in Honor Choir in sixth grade. She plays the piano, ukulele and clarinet. This is Radeke’s fifth year with the Cantabile Girls’ Choir. She is also active with GREAT Theatre, Sartell Middle School Theatre and performed in the Wirth Center’s School of Rock.

“It is an honor to be selected to sing with the top vocal musicians in the state,” Radeke said. “I have connected with musicians from other schools through choral and theatrical programs, and I love being able to sing on the same stage with them.”

This is Lathe’s fifth year singing with the Cantabile Girls’ Choir. She said being in the Honor Choir can be challenging.

“It was both fun and challenging,” Lathe said. “Singing in different languages and learning that much music was worth all the work. The concert was energetic and the audience loved it.”

Lathe’s mother is the elementary music teacher at Pine Meadow Elementary School in Sartell, and her father is the director of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota. Her mother also directed the Cantabile Girls’ Choir program for two years.

Both girls also sing in the St. Cloud State University Cantabile Girls’ Choir and upcoming concerts include: “A Mosaic of Joy” (with the Great River Chorale) concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 in St. Mary’s Cathedral, and “A Mosaic of Joy” (with the Great River Chorale) at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 in Bethlehem Lutheran Church in southeast St. Cloud.