An estimated 235 high school vocalists will be on the Wayne State College campus to participate in the Department of Music’s Festival of Honor Choirs on Feb. 2. 

The festival, which is held annually, aims to bring the best young vocalists of the surrounding region together to meet like-minded peers. Dr. Matthew Armstrong, the Director of Choral Activities at WSC and conductor of the festival’s Mixed Honor Choir, elaborated on this goal.  

“The idea of the festival choir is that all of a sudden, they are surrounded by people who love it as much as they do and people that have the abilities that they do. So they can accomplish more in a day,” Armstrong said. “And this music, much of it is more difficult than what most of the high school choirs could perform on their own.” 

The festival also serves to show participating high school students what the Department of Music has to offer at WSC. Participating students not only get to work closely with multiple accomplished WSC faculty, but they have the opportunity to learn from and speak to current WSC students as well.  

“It’s a huge recruiting opportunity for us,” Armstrong said. “They eat in the cafeteria, and the Concert Choir will come in and sing for them. They’ll hear the college choir and see what is possible in college and hopefully say, ‘I wanna do that. I wanna go there and be a part of that.’”  

To participate in the Festival of Honor Choirs, a student must pay a small application fee of $5 and send in an audition tape. The deadline to submit applications for this year’s festival passed on Dec. 8, 2023, but students who wish to participate in the future can be on the lookout for information regarding next year’s festival.  

Students participating in the Festival of Honor Choirs are anticipated to arrive on campus for registration at around 9 a.m. They will work throughout the day on a challenging selection of music, which will culminate in a concert held at 4:30 p.m. in Ramsey Theatre. Some selections being performed at this year’s festival include “Heartland” by Gary Fry, “Funiculí – Faniculá” by Peppino Turko and Luigi Denza, as well as “The Call” by Adam Orban and George Herbert. (about 400 words) 

“The Call” is a very personal piece for Abby Luesink Sheppard, who is the Assistant Choral Director at Sioux City East High School and the conductor for the festival’s Treble Honor Choir.  

“In 2006, my little brother was killed in Iraq. He was a marine,” Sheppard said. “When you’re a musician, there’s not many things you can do to dedicate to somebody who is important like that, so I had the piece written for him.”  

Sheppard selected this piece not only to pay tribute to her brother, but to empower the singers of the Honor Treble Choir, which will be made up of primarily female singers.  

“I am a big proponent of having Treble Choir music be about empowerment just because 98% of the time their music is about flowers or falling in love,” Sheppard said. “I think I picked more of the songs for the singers so that they feel empowered and part of something bigger than themselves.” 

The culminating concert will be open to the public, with a $5 admission fee for attendees over the age of 12. Children 12 and under get free admission, as well as WSC students who present their CAT Card upon entering. Students and community members alike are encouraged to attend. More information can be found under the Department of Music page on the WSC website.