JEFFERSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WDVM) — It’s considered the highest level of success for a choir student in West Virginia — four student singers from Washington High School’s choir made it into All-State Choir with top-ranking scores under the West Virginia American Choral Director’s Association. One student, Donnie Hawkins, even ranked as the highest-scoring Bass 2 singer in West Virginia.
“This is just such a huge honor for me because you know this is my first time ever auditioning for something like this and you know there were so many talented people at this audition,” said Hawkins, who is a junior at Washington High School.
With the help of their Choir Director Ken Cooper, students put in roughly 30 hours of practice for weeks on end to prepare for the All-State Choir audition.
“We did sightreading too, singing, and clapping, and compound time,” recalled Washington High School Senior Daniel Velez.
The achievement isn’t the first for Washington High School’s choir. The school has produced five top-ranking Bass 2 singers and two of the highest-ranking Soprano 1 singers since 2008.
“We have a lot of commitment and that translates into hard work and skill and results,” Washington High School senior Brynne Bartlett said.
The students from Washington High School who made it into All-State Choir will travel to Charleston in January to sing as part of the All-State Chamber Choir.