WP, CCS students attend High Plains Honor Choir

Wauneta-Palisade students Olivia Behrends and Haley Walker attended the High Plains Honor Choir and Chase County Schools’ Getsemani Hinojoza Holman the honor band, held at Chadron State College on Feb. 1-2.
WP music teacher Sara Behrends said the girls had to audition via recorded audition.
Most participants were from Nebraska, but Behrends said students from Wyoming and South Dakota also attended.
“This year’s event was different, in that they selected the usual number of students for the choir, band, and guitar ensemble, but then they had to cut many of the kids, due to COVID restrictions,” Behrends said. Typically, she added, the choir would be made up of 75 students, but this year only 22 students were allowed on campus. The band portion of the festival followed the same protocol.
O. Behrends participated as a soprano 1 and Walker was an alto 2.
Sophia Alfayo and Kendra Bley were also selected for the choir, but did not make the cut to come on campus, Behrends said.
CCS music teacher Agnes Strand said nine auditioned from Chase County Schools.
Selected students took part in two days of rehearsals and activities, then performed at a concert Tuesday evening.
Besides choir and band, a guitar ensemble and keyboard ensemble performed.
    Strand also mentioned the virtual concert and added that CCS students took part in the same style concert for the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
    CCS had five audition for the honor band at UNK with Holman, Heather Stumpff and Ella O’Neil making the final cut.
    “I am always pleased when students audition as that is a tough path to traverse - takes a lot of work on the students’ part and requires them to step WAY out of their comfort zone to record an audition,” Strand said.