Why All-State Chorus?

Brian Williams

NJMEA Choral Performance Chair

Robbinsville High School

williams.brian[at]robbinsville.k12.nj.us

Spring: for most it’s a reprieve from darkness, raising temperatures, and a sense of hope; for music teachers it’s a different story. We are greeted by tech weeks, concert preparations, field trips, and a group of students slowly spiraling out of control as the year ends. On top of all of this insanity is the added pressure of completing paperwork and preparing students for All-State auditions. For many, the thought of adding one more thing to our plate is too much so we choose to not have students audition or forget it’s even happening. Last November, the All-State Mixed Chorus and Orchestra ensembles returned to Atlantic City for the first time since quarantine. For every single participating member, this was a brand new experience. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the lessons I learned watching these young musicians engage in high level music making.

While I am specifically speaking of All-State Chorus in this article, please do not consider these take aways to be limited to that specific ensemble or the vocal arts alone, as I believe these lessons and experiences can be universal across all ensembles

Being able to interact with world class conductors gives young musicians the opportunity to hone their musicianship and experience the rehearsal process of a professional musician. Think about the first time you sang under a new director — it’s probably a foundational memory in your musical journey. The thrill of trying to decode this unfamiliar human and decipher their interpretation of an art-form you love is an exhilarating experience. We all know from our own teaching experience that regardless of how many times you remind your ensemble to make a change for a particular passage, a stranger saying the same thing will be heralded as genius by your singers. Having students perform under another baton is a fundamental step towards them developing an understanding that music is a fluid experience to be interpreted and enjoyed by the audience and performers alike.

Over the long weekend in Atlantic City, students rehearsed with Dr. Amanda Quist for a large part of their hours awake. These rehearsals were highly technical displays of masterful direction. Not a minute was wasted and kids were constantly singing, reflecting, and growing. The few hours they were not rehearsing, students were bonding while strolling down the boardwalk, huddling in corners practicing passages they weren’t solid on, or sharing stories about the music programs at their schools. These experiences only help to strengthen our individual schools’ programs by returning reinvigorated passionate young musicians.

One of the ways that the All-State Choral experience has helped my ensembles is by providing my students with role models. Once a student returns from their All-State experience, they gush to their peers about how inspiring and intelligent the conductor was, their amazing weekend, or how there were more than three tenors in the ensemble. Immediately, they become student leaders in the eyes of their peers and can help turnkey some of the techniques and ideas they learned in All-State. The added responsibility creates a new caliber of singer and you’ll notice your highly motivated kids will start pushing to get into All-State ensembles. Not only have I seen this cycle in action, but from chatting with the students in Atlantic City, they were excited to try to recruit their friends into the ensembles for next year.

While I was backstage at New Jersey Performing Arts Center during the concert, one moment stood out as most impactful for me: A student left the stage during the penultimate song due to having a coughing fit. By the time everything settled down, she realized that it was too late to rejoin the choir on stage for the last piece, “The Awakening.” This singer stood off in the wings, locked on Dr. Quist’s conducting and joined in singing with the choir. While she was separated from the choir physically, she was moving and singing with the rest of the group, connected in the emotion of the piece and caught up in the act of making music. The impact of her being so far removed from the ensemble while still fully engaged singing the final chorus of “let music never die in me” was something I will not forget. Her sense of love for this art filled me with an immense amount of hope and reignited my need to pass on my own love for music to others.

If you have never sent students to All-State before I strongly urge you to take the chance. The All-State experience creates memories, fosters strong musicianship, and ultimately helps develop our own ensembles. The experience that students themselves can glean from this opportunity is worth more than any words I can put together, so let me instead close with their thoughts:

“All-State was life changing. I met so many people I still talk to a month and a half later and the memories I made in Atlantic City and at NJPAC are gonna stay with me forever.”

-Thomas Alexander, Eastern Regional High School

“I loved learning from our conductor, Dr. Amanda Quist. Not only did she make us better singers, but better people. Emphasizing positive affirmations, she created a comfortable, yet professional, environment.”

-Angelina Tung, Summit High School

“Working with Dr. Quist in Atlantic City was truly a privilege, in those three days I learned so much about myself as a singer and I developed a stronger work ethic. Of course, hearing all of the voices sing in unison was moving to me and I am so grateful to have been able to take part in that.”

-Sam Laitman, Westfield High

“The inclusivity amongst all of the students and the ability to feel so comfortable around everyone because they were so nice and genuine.”

-Luciana Musano, West Essex High School

“It’s a great opportunity to meet people who love to sing in a choir as much as you do. It is so much fun to be able to sing with people who

“One of the most impactful parts of All-State Chorus this year was the experience of walking on stage at NJPAC for the first time. Chorus had always been one of the most important things in my life and I walked onto one of the most gorgeous stages I’ve ever been on with over 200 of my peers that had the same intense love of this music as I did.”

-Tori Dillon, Howell High School

“Don't be afraid to audition! Trying out for such a prestigious ensemble may seem daunting, but it's always better to fail and learn from your mistakes than never try out. Most importantly, treat your audition as a learning experience that you can grow from, and if you don't get in this time? Try again next year!”

-Samyuktha Arvind, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South

“It is a really big time commitment but I totally recommend because in the end this has been one of the coolest things i’ve ever done.”

-Olivia Marino , Westfield High School

“After my All-State experience, I noticed how music lifts people up, and how people can come together to channel their talent and energy into making the world better. It makes my heart happy to know that we made someone in the audience feel a little bit more joy by doing what we love.”

-Mina Batra, Somerville High School