All County Choral Festival slated for Tuesday night
By From staff reports
Published in News on April 15, 2018 3:05 AM
Wayne County Public Schools will showcase the musical talents of more than 260 student vocalists Tuesday night at the 2018 All County Choral Festival.
The free event, which features representation from 26 schools, will be held at Goldsboro High School at 6 p.m.
The annual showcase involves a lot of hard work from the students as well as assisting music/choral teachers and guest conductors, officials said.
"There are a lot of moving parts to make this event a success, and organizing it is a team effort," said Kim Copeland, WCPS director specialist. "I would like to extend my personal thanks to Jason Cox, our lead choral teacher. He not only works with me to coordinate all of the music teachers and choral directors in the weeks leading up to the event, but he organizes a full day of rehearsal prior to the concerts for students to practice their selections with the guest conductors."
The evening will be divided into three programs, which will be performed by elementary, middle, and high school students. An accomplished professional will direct each talented group of singers.
The elementary school chorus will be directed by Jeremy Tucker, artistic director for the Raleigh Boychoir and music and theatre arts education consultant at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
The middle school chorus will be directed by Susan Townsend, a retired music educator, music performance adjudicator and North Carolina Music Educators Association Student Activities Coordinator for the middle school choral section.
The high school chorus will be directed by Dr. José Rivera, coordinator of music education and associate professor of music education at the University of North Carolina. Greenwood Middle assistant principal, Justin Bruyer, will serve as the master of ceremonies.
Choral directors from each school selected the participating students for their vocal ability and work ethic. Musical selections will include Sikiliza, Ciranda da Lua, 3 Quotes by Mark Twain, The Song that Nature Sings, Didn't My Lord Deliver, Shenandoah and Shout Glory.
The following WCPS music teachers and chorus directors have worked for weeks preparing students for this event: Johnice Johnson of Brogden Primary, Hannah Moore of Carver Elementary, Kevin Alston of Carver Heights Elementary, Rico Dawson of Charles B. Aycock High, Victoria Ruffin-Atkins of Dillard Middle, Weil Sawyer of Eastern Wayne Elementary, Raven White of Eastern Wayne High, Kenneth "Skip" Morris of Eastern Wayne Middle, Cierra Ried of Fremont STARS Elementary, Jaime Cox of Grantham Elementary and Grantham Middle, Winnie Wong of Greenwood Middle, Matilda Marriner of Meadow Lane Elementary, Hatalee Anderson of Mount Olive Middle, Denise Dupree of North Drive Elementary, Cullen Jarman of Northeast Elementary, Sharon Caughron of Northwest Elementary, Tiffany Kilgore of Norwayne Middle, Denise Tilden of Rosewood Elementary, Lisa West of Rosewood High and Rosewood Middle, Lynne Rose of Spring Creek Elementary, Olivia Willie of Spring Creek Middle, Jason Cox of Southern Wayne High, Daniel Kilgore of Spring Creek High and Ashley Faulk of Tommy's Road Elementary.