Angelina College students selected for All-State Choir
Trio performs with choir in front of 15,000 educators at San Antonio concert venue

ALL-STATE CHOIR - Angelina College students Erin Nelson (seated left), Esther McClure (seated right) and Josh Griffin recently were selected to the Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir. They were three of just 120 Texas community college students to receive the honor. (AC Press Photo)

Three Angelina College students recently were honored with their selection to the Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir. Sophomore Music major Erin Nelson of Buffalo, TX, sophomore Esther McClure of Nacogdoches and freshman Josh Griffin were three of 120 junior college students chosen statewide to participate in the annual event held in San Antonio. The conference, which culminates in the choir's performance, includes music directors from throughout the state who teach from kindergarten to university level, and is held in conjunction with the Texas Music Educator's Association.

In addition, this year's guest Director will be Jerry Blackstone, formerly of the University of Michigan School of Music.

Students hoping to make the All-State Choir audition late in the fall semester, and those auditions are divided among community colleges according to region. The scheduled guest clinician, chosen by the choir directors two years in advance, pre-selects the music they want the students to perform upon their arrival in San Antonio. The All-State Choir will work with Blackstone throughout the week before performing for nearly 15,000 educators.

AC instructor and choir director Beckie Compton said the selection of the three AC students was the result of simple dedication and hard work on their part.

"These students have to be dedicated, and willing to learn extra music outside the class," Compton said. "This level of music is such that I'm not really able to teach it in a classroom; to earn All-State honors, they really have to want it."

Nelson, McClure and Griffin are each members of the AC Singers.

"I'm excited because with the AC Singers, we do show tunes and other exciting things," McClure said, "but this choir is going to be more geared toward classic music. I'm looking forward to the experience."

Nelson said, "This is exciting for me, just because I'd never really been in a choir before. My high school didn't have one, and the one we have at AC is pretty small. So I think it will be very interesting to hear all those voices onstage at once."

For Griffin, who plans to become a music teacher, performing with the choir will be a new experience entirely.

"In high school, our choir program was cut out before I got there," Griffin said." I was in band for four years, so I never really had an opportunity to do this. And to receive an All-State honor my freshman year is pretty special."

Compton noted that making the All- State Choir could lead to bigger things for these students.

"For anyone hoping to move onto their choral opportunities at the university level, this is a big plus, especially for Music majors," Compton said. "They'll be able to show that they've studied with some very prestigious conductors."

The conference begins on Wednesday, Feb. 13th and runs through Saturday, Feb. 16th. The concert will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.