[ot-caption title=”Pine Crest students collaborated with 60 other singers during a practice for the University of Miami Choral Festival. (via Mr. Testa)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/UMHonors2-1024×7681.jpg”]

On November 11^th, ten of our very own chorus students hopped in a school bus and went on a field trip to the University of Miami Choral Festival. With the purpose of recruiting singers for the University’s Music Program, the 46th annual event was hosted by the Frost School of Music.

The festival featured conductor enrichment workshops, performances, and a number of musicians and singers brought together by their mutual love for choral music. Dr. Corin Overland of the University of Miami had to say the following about the Festival, “Coming together and singing with other high school students and a guest clinician really enhances each student’s list of life’s experiences.”

Before going to the University of Miami Choral Festival, the singers trained for weeks with our chorus director, Mr. Testa. They practiced with different songs, techniques, and vocal exercises. Mr. Testa explained, “This year we selected students that were mostly freshmen and Sophomores that are emerging leaders in our Pine Crest Chorus. We took time from our regular chorus class to learn the selections, and students also worked at home with recorded materials.”

[ot-caption title=”The ten selected chorus singers strike a pose in front of the Frost School of Music sign. (via Mr. Testa)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/UMHonors.jpg”]

Shortly after arriving, the singers quickly adapted to working with different singers in a new environment; it gave the students a refreshing opportunity to interact with others with the same passion outside of Pine Crest’s Fine Arts Center. Sophomore Kylie DiCarolis, one of the choral performers for Pine Crest, said, “I loved adapting to an environment with other singers in a short amount of time.” By coming together, they were able to reach new levels that they didn’t know were possible. The students were fortunate to experience a college-level choral program while having fun at the same time. The event not only allows students to be individual learns, but also helps improve their skills of being leaders in their own community.

Mary Morrow, the Director of Choral Activities says that, “UM Honor Choir provides a catalyst of sharing with colleagues in a setting that is enriching not only to the students we bring but also within the relationships among the educators.”

During the school year, Mr. Testa provides the students with the knowledge and necessary skills to perform at the University of Miami Honor Choral event. He even mentions his own favorite parts of the trip, “UM has mini sessions for the teachers in attendance. I enjoyed the session on a short history of Jewish Sacred and Secular Music 1600’s to present day.”

It was an amazing and new opportunity for the ten choral signers. Our students got to sing with 60 other selected singers and perform under the direction of one of Miami’s top conductors. It was an amazing opportunity for prospective Hurricanes to see the campus, meet new people, and become familiar with the Frost School of Music.