ALL-STATE HONOR CHOIR WRAP-UP

by Molly Peters

My esteemed CCDA colleagues, this will be the last Honor Choir report I will be writing....like, hopefully ever. After six years working on All State Honor Choirs (two years as junior high chair, then four years as high school chair), it is time for me to pass the torch. It was either that or change my middle name to “honor choir chair.” I chose the former. Many of you already know Susie Martone, the amazing educator who will be taking the wheel from me in July. She went above and beyond as the 2020 Chaperone Coordinator in Fresno, and she brings a fresh perspective to the monumental task that is California All-State. Susie is the choral director at Greene Middle School in Palo Alto. Her amazing sense of humor and ability to tackle problems head-on without fear is exactly what our honor choir students, families, and teachers need! Susie lives with her cats, Cash and June,and enjoys popcorn and bourbon Manhattans (that seems like it could be valuable information down the road). Susie and Angelina Fitzhugh, who has taken over as Junior High Honor Choir Chair, are the literal definition of a dream team, and I cannot wait to see where they take our honor choir program over the next few years!

For those of you waiting excitedly for the 2021 All State virtual videos, the engineers are working to assemble our performance videos. Our hope is that they will be ready by late April/early May. I cannot say a huge enough thank you to our conductors, Dr. Judy Bowers (Junior High/9th grade), Dr. Amanda Quist (SSAA), Dr. Anthony Trecek-King (SATB), and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu (TTBB) for climbing aboard the Virtual All State crazy train. Each conductor had a California accompanist to assist with rehearsal: Heather Bishop (SSAA), Michael DiGiacinto (TTBB), Emily Hsu (HS SATB), and Amanda Ku (JHS SATB). We had four amazing managers for our Zoom-sembles as well: Angelina Fitzhugh (JHS/9th), Jennifer McGill (SSAA), Kris Ornelas (SATB), and Brianna Mowry (TTBB). In addition to the regular manager duties of attendance and behavior management, these rock stars also helped check that every video submission was done correctly. I am indebted to them.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me with the California Honor Choir program. I am proud of the improvements we have made and continue to make to best serve our diverse California choral community. And next time we are socially gathered together, come say hi to me. You can do so safely, knowing that you won’t get roped into doing something for All State. 

FRESNO STATE

DISCOVERY. DIVERSITY. DISTINCTION.

FACULTY

Fresno State is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. We provide undergraduate and graduate instruction in music for those planning professional careers as performers, composers, educators, and studio teachers, as well as those preparing for advanced degrees. We focus on broadening students' intellectual horizons, fostering lifelong learning skills, developing the leaders of tomorrow, promoting community involvement, and instilling an appreciation of world cultures. We nurture cultural competence by celebrating the rich diversity of the campus community and welcoming the participation of all.

DEGREES OFFERED

Director of Choral Activities Dr. Cari Earnhart

Choral Music Education Dr. Emily Mason Dr. Tony Mowrer

Voice Dr. Maria Briggs Dr. Anthony Radford

FACULTY EMERITUS Dr. Anna Hamre Dr. Arthur Huff Dr. Gary Unruh

FINANCIAL PACKAGES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND TRANSFER STUDENTS. T EACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS. OVER $300,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS

BACHELOR OF ARTS Music Education Music as a Liberal Art Vocal Performance

MASTER OF ARTS Choral Conducting Music Education Vocal Performance

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Dr. Cari Earnhart: cearnhart@csufresno.edu fresnostate.edu/artshum/music/ensembles/major/concertchoir.html @FS Choirs