Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 117, No. 07	February 18, 2009

Music students represent county well at Kentucky Music Educators Association’s annual conference

By JACQUIE MILLER
Messenger Staff

Musicians from throughout Kentucky converged in Louisville Feb. 4-7 for the Kentucky Music Educators Association’s (KMEA) annual professional development conference. A record number of Meade County students were among them performing as all-state musicians.

To be selected for one of the all-state music ensembles, vocal and instrumental students must audition. Those students who are chosen are among the top performers in the state of Kentucky.

Included in the all-state choral groups were students from David T. Wilson Elementary, Ekron Elementary, Stuart Pepper Middle School and Meade County High School.

“This is an honor for our students,” said Ruth Ann Shacklett, music teacher at David T. Wilson. “They deserve to be recognized for what they have done.”

Students show their enthusiasm for the music with choreographed moves during the all-state children’s and junior high chorus concert on Feb. 5.

For the all-state children’s choir and junior high choir participants, their journeys began in the fall of the year with a recorded audition. These recordings were sent, along with hundreds of other recordings, to qualified judges who accept only the top singers. Not everyone who auditions makes it.

After a long wait, the students who are selected came together for rehearsals, followed by a concert at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, Louisville.

High school students endured a live audition process. Once selected, these students committed themselves to regional rehearsals leading up to the event. Finally, the three separate choirs (one mixed, one women’s and one men’s) and two instrumental ensembles came together at the convention for final preparations and concerts at the Kentucky center.

The experience is a great opportunity for students to meet with other musicians from the state, learn more about what they enjoy doing and prepare themselves for future endeavors in music.

Selected to participate in the 2009 KMEA all-state children’s chorus were: Carlea Brothers, Hannah King, Mary Kate Powers, Alexandra Whitman and Katie Wilson, all students of Ruth Ann Shacklett at David T. Wilson Elementary; Julia Seelye and Natalie Wilkins, students of Natasha Lanham at Ekron Elementary.

Pictured left: Meade County members of the 2009 Kentucky all-state children’s chorus and their teachers pose for a picture before the Feb. 5 concert. Inset: Former Meade County resident Madelynn Garnett was also selected to perform with the children’s chorus. Madelynn is now a student at Whitfield Academy, Louisville.

Included in the all-state junior high chorus were 11 Stuart Pepper Middle School students (pictured top left) and seven students from the Meade County High School Freshman Academy (pictured top right).

Selected to participate in the junior high chorus were students of Brian Nichols and Mary Gibson Horsley: Ryan Babb, Andre Dowell, Courtney Emerick, Alex Fackler, Alexis Greco, Emerald Hunter, Sara McDonald, Jacob Robinson, Samantha Storms, Connor Williams and Leshandria Willis, students at Stuart Pepper Middle School; Dakota Arnold, Andrew Butler, Devin Flaherty, Tyler Fugate, Jordan King, Alex Poe and Brady Smith, students at Meade County High School Freshman Academy.

Selected to participate in the 2009 KMEA all-state senior high choruses were Meade County High School students: Ryan Barr, Matthew Fackler, Andrew Hubbard, Garth Ledford, Ethan Mattingly, Jonathan McCoy, Stephanie Mensor, Nick Powers and Jessica West.

Photos by Jacquie Miller and Mary Gibson Horsley
Meade County High School members of the 2009 Kentucky senior high all-state school choirs take a break from rehearsals at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Click Here to Go Back