The Coweta County Board of Education recognized 33 middle and high school students chorus students at their November Board meeting who had passed the first audition for Georgia’s All-State Choir.

In introducing the teachers and students, board member Sue Brown noted that the large number of Coweta County students who passed the audition was “unprecedented” for a county of Coweta’s size.

“We are so thrilled that our students are being recognized at both district and state levels,” said Lee Middle School teacher Christy Hauert. “We appreciate the support that we get from our administration to allow our students opportunities such as this one, and we thank the parents of our students that go the extra mile to encourage commitment to our programs.”

All-State – which is held in Savannah, February 21-23 – chooses only 500 middle schoolers and 1000 high-schoolers state-wide for participation in the prestigious choral event.

During the October 13 audition at Dutchtown Middle School and High School in Henry County, over 6,800 were registered to audition, including 2281 7th and 8th graders, 1609 9th and 10th graders, and 1468 11th and 12th graders, all competing for the 1,500 slots. 33 Coweta County students from eight middle schools and high schools made the cut.

The students are:

East Coweta High: (chorus teacher Donna Weeks): Benjamin Coles, Sophia Santos and Young Rim (Leah) Lee.

Newnan High (chorus teacher Kathy Bizarth): Robin Vance, Megan Burrell, Morgan Hough, Sarah Beth Moseley, Abbie Grace Townsend, Taj Stephens and Corey Thompson.

Northgate High (chorus teacher Rachel Gordon): Glenn Bailey, Cody Bowers, Gretchen Harrison, Chris Kirkland, Ruth Sennett and Rachel Snow.

Arnall Middle (chorus teacher Terri Sanders-Finlinson): Megan McGurl, Michael Dean, Micaela Siraj, Kendall Trammell, Marilyn Naughton and Emma Bush.

Evans Middle (chorus teacher Johnny Holloway): Allison Booth and Christy Perkins.

Lee Middle (chorus teacher Christy Hauert): Brady Coles.

Madras Middle (chorus teacher Erin Walton): Killian Grina, Kelsey Armstrong, Amy Blount, Nicholas Emory, Andrea Jackson and Mary Jones.

Smokey Road Middle (chorus teacher Denise Meacham): Tori Bartlett and Lindsay Munson.

The students will participate in a second audition on January 19 at Lee Middle School before being officially chosen for the Savannah chorus.

The auditions are difficult affairs. In the first round, students had to complete an audition which included a solo, scales, four tonal memory examples (five notes are played once and the student has to sing it back with exact rhythm and correct pitches), and three sight reading examples (students are only given their first pitch and the chord for the key, and are given 30 seconds to study the music before singing it aloud).

In the second audition in January, the students will be tested on their memorization and mastery of the music selected for this year’s Allstate Chorus.

Coweta’s All-State students were also joined by choral students who were chosen last Saturday for the District 6 Honor Chorus. Those students, too, were selected by a highly competitive audition process at the Clayton County Performing Arts Center on November 9.

Over 100 girls from several District 6 counties tried out to fill only eight positions on the Honors Chorus ensemble. Five of the eight chosen were from Coweta County. They are (from Madras Middle) Killian Grina and Madeline Robinson and (from Lee Middle) Blaire Morgan, Cheyenne Eng and Brianna Croft. Tyler Hinesley from Madras was also selected as a soloist out of over 50 students who auditioned, and was honored Tuesday night.

“It’s amazing that we’ve had this many kids who have made these auditions. Allstate chorus takes a lot of before school and after school rehearsal, and I’m thrilled to see this number of students achieve,” said Madras chorus teacher Erin Walton. “I think it definitely means that the fine arts are very alive in this county, and that we have some great chorus teachers who have put a lot of a heart into teaching these children.”

Coweta County Choral students have made an outsized showing among the other Georgia choral students trying out for this year’s All state chorus in Savannah. 33 students passed the difficult first-round auditions held on October 13, and five students will fill the eight positions on the District 6 Honors Chorus Ensemble. The students – from five middle schools and all three high schools in Coweta - were honored by the Coweta County Board of Education on November 13. Among the All-State and other high-performing choral students honored were, left to right, first row, Nick Emory (Madras), Michael Dean (Arnall), Blaire Morgan (Lee), Brady Coles (Lee), Robin Vance (Newnan High) and Megan Burrell (Newnan High); second row, Tori Bartlett (Smokey Road), Kelsey Armstrong (Madras), Madeleine Robinson (Madras), Killian Grina (Madras), Morgan Hough (Newnan High), Sarah Beth Moseley (Newnan High) and Cheyenne Eng (Lee); third row Andrea Jackson (Madras), Amy Blount (Madras), Micaela Siraj (Arnall), Kendall Trammell (Arnall), Allison Booth (Evans), Mary Jones (Madras), and Abbie Grace Townsend (Newnan High); and fourth row Tyler Hinesley (Madras), Marilyn Naughton (Arnall), Taj Stephens (Newnan High), Corey Thompson (Newnan High), Benjamin Coles (East Coweta High), Emma Bush (Arnall), Brianna Croft (Lee), and Lindsay Munson (Smokey Road).

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