Haines High School senior Jess Giddingstraveled to Portland, Ore., to perform with the National Association for Music Education’s All Northwest mixed choir. The first alto was the only Haines performer among thousands of students who gathered for choral and instrumental concerts. There were 360 students in the mixed choir, and all students were required to memorize their music before the festival. They practiced for two days under the direction of a collegiate choir director.…