Choral students join statewide honors choir

Lenoir-Rhyne University will send eight students to participate in the 2023 North Carolina chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (NCACDA) State Honors Choir at Duke University on October 13. The honors choir will spend the day in open rehearsals with renowned composer and conductor Rosephayne Powell, D.M., and perform in an evening concert in Duke Chapel at 7 p.m.

“I'm grateful I get to interact daily with these hardworking students. I'm proud of what they have accomplished and excited for them,” said Ryan Luhrs, Ph.D., associate professor of music and director of the A Cappella Choir. He added, “This event is an honor. It provides a wonderful opportunity to be led by an award-winning composer and conductor in Duke Chapel, a wonderful venue for choral singing.”  

The NCACDA State Honors Choir performance is part of the NCACDA annual conference, which brings together choral musicians and directors from educational institutions, churches, community organizations and professional performance groups statewide. Now in its second year, the honors choir comprises more than 150 college and university students from more than 20 North Carolina institutions.

“I am looking forward to meeting and making music with other students from around the state,” said Kristen Turner ’24, who is completing a double major in music performance and sacred music. “Choirs are unique spaces where people can come together and create beautiful music while experiencing a feeling of unity and connection with others. That kind of connection is so difficult to find in the world.”

Music education major Kristin Thomas ’25 will be making her second appearance in the honors choir and is eager to learn from Powell, a voice professor at Auburn University whose more than 30 compositions of sacred, secular and multicultural work have become staples for choirs of all types.

“I can’t even put into words how much I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Powell,” Thomas shared.

As excited as she is to collaborate with fellow choral performers from around the state and an acclaimed director, Thomas said she wouldn’t be on her way to Duke Chapel next Friday without the instruction and support she has found at LR.

“The music program is my home away from home,” she explained. “Every time I walk into the music building I see people I know and collaborate with. These connections with my fellow students and with the faculty here have advanced my development as a musician by challenging me to grow and giving me a sense of family.”

2023 NCACDA State Honors Choir Participants 
•    Ashton Alvarez-Allred ’25, sacred music, Asheboro, NC
•    Fallon Breedlove ’25, music performance & sacred music, Hickory, NC
•    Noah Messick ’25, music performance & sacred music, Hickory, NC
•    Dan Paradis ’25, economics, Charlotte, NC
•    Jeffrey Sarmiento ’25, music education, Lincolnton, NC
•    Kristin Thomas ‘25, music education, Asheboro, NC
•    Kristen Turner ’24, music performance & sacred music, Lenoir, NC
•    Sydney Weaver, ’24, sacred music & music education, Claremont, NC