Two PJC music students perform in All-State Choir
Published or Revised February 17, 2012
Paris Junior College Instructor of Music/Director of Choirs and Vocal Music Philip Briggs accompanied students Josiah Cooper and Matthew Blake Miles, both of Paris, to the Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir in San Antonio. The 135-voice choir was selected from statewide regional auditions.
Two Paris Junior College choral music students traveled to San Antonio Feb. 8-11 to participate in the Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir at the Texas Music Educators Convention.
The 135-voice choir was selected during statewide auditions held regionally last semester. Dr. Lynne Gackle, nationally recognized choral conductor and associate professor of ensembles at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, was the All-State clinician.
Josiah Cooper and Matthew Blake Miles of Paris represented PJC. They spent hours each day rehearsing, then performed to a large crowd at the San Antonio Convention Center. PJC Instructor of Music/Director of Choirs and Vocal Music Philip Briggs attended with the students.
"This annual experience for our students is deeply enriching musically as they are afforded the opportunity to rehearse and perform with the top two-year college choral musicians from around the state," said Briggs. "Additionally, I get to renew my personal contacts with fellow collegiate choral directors and gain professional knowledge from convention workshops and clinics."
The students also attended portions of the Texas Music Educator's Association Convention held concurrently. The Texas Two-Year College Choral Director's Association is affiliated with TMEA and the Two-Year College All-State Choir is featured in concert along with other All-State musical organizations.
Guest conductor Gackle also serves as associate director of choral activities at Baylor University where she conducts the Baylor Women's Choir and the Baylor Concert Choir. She has conducted All-State choirs in 26 states and her choirs have performed at American Choral Directors Association state, division, and national conferences and the Music Educators National Conference Biennial Convention. Internationally, she conducted the Australian National Choral Association's High School Women's Choir in Brisbane, the Alberta Choral Federation's High School Honour Choir in Calgary, the DoDDS-Europe Honors Music Festival Mixed Choir, (Wiesbaden, Germany), the Haydn Youth Festival in Vienna, and the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) International Women's Honor Choir in Beijing, China.
