Haines High School students performed in the Southeast Alaska Honor Music Festival at the Thunder Mountain High School auditorium in Sitka late last month.
Peter Elklund, director of choral activities at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, directed the choir.
Raine Winge, Hannah Boron, Natalie Jobbins, Matilda Rogers, Lydia Andriesen, Melanie Thomas, Luke Davis, Logan Borcik, Nathan Haas, Brennan Palmieri and Steven Galinski sang in the choir. They performed songs including “Song of Triumph” by Dale Grotenhuis, “And Nature Smiled,” by Allen Koepke and “The Awakening” by Joseph Martin.
“Dr. Eklund did an excellent job of infusing the lively engaging rehearsals with excellent fundamental vocal instruction in diction, vowel formation for singing and was a joy to learn from and observe,” music director Matt Davis said. “In the final performance, the choir performed each of their pieces better than they had in any of their rehearsals.”
Brass players also performed in the trumpet section of the band directed by Scott Hagen, director of bands at the University of Utah. Mark Davis and Haley Boron led the high brass section playing first and second chairs respectively, Matt Davis said.
The band peformed The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed, Illumination by David Maslanka and The Redwoods by Rossano Glante, among others.
“The concert was well attended and recordings of the concert have been posted to the Haines Glacier Bears Youtube channel,” Matt Davis said.