Local students chosen for prestigious chorus

Three Onslow County students have been given the chance to sing their hearts out at a conference in Winston-Salem.

More than 1,000 middle school students auditioned statewide but only 160 — the top 5 percent of middle school singers — were accepted into the Middle School Honors Chorus, said Sonja Williams, the music teacher at Jacksonville Commons Middle School. One of her eighth grade students, Dennis Butcher, 14, is one of them.

“At first I thought I wasn’t going to make it, and when I made it I was really surprised,” said Dennis, a tenor. “We rehearse after school every day so that I can learn all six songs we will be required to sing. Some of the songs I like a lot, and some not as much.”

Butcher’s favorite music is R&B and soul — Ne-Yo, The Temptations, The Jackson Five and Michael Jackson to mention a few. He said he might consider auditioning for a television talent show but does not want to sing professionally.

He gets too nervous.

“He has a little stage fright, but once he gets on stage and performs you would never know,” Williams said.

The students will travel to the North Carolina Music Educator’s In-Service Conference Sunday, said Hillary Boutwell, the music teacher at Southwest Middle School. Two of her seventh grade students — Loreena West, 11, and Kaleb Robeson, 12 — made the cut. The students, who auditioned in Goldsboro on Oct. 2, had to meet six criteria: tone color-quality; diction; technique; knowledge of music; interpretation and sight-reading, said Williams.

“During the audition students were expected to sing a difficult piece in front of a judge and then sight-sing a melodic exercise they had never seen before,” said Boutwell.

The students will travel together to Winston-Salem for the conference.

“They will rehearse strenuously on Friday and Saturday and then perform in concert on Saturday evening at the Stevens Center,” Boutwell said.

Kaleb, a tenor, is thrilled to have been chosen for the prestigious chorus.

“(West and I) are the first students from Southwest (Middle School) to be accepted into the honors chorus in the history of the school,” he said.

But like Dennis, he’s not sure he wants to make music a career.

Loreena said her dream is to sing on Broadway.

“When I found out I (made the chorus) I actually cried. I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was a really good experience — at first I was a little reluctant, but I found out I have a passion for (singing).

She said she is looking forward to the concert.

“I don’t know if I will ever get to experience anything like this again,” she said.

Contact Topsail area reporter Suzanne Ulbrich at 910-219-8454.