Four Poplar Bluff High School choral students have been selected for the All-State Choir, one of whom has further qualified to compete statewide in the Sight-Singing Bee.
Bralin Duckett, a tenor, and soprano Emma Harris will perform with the choir in January during the Missouri Music Educators Association conference at Osage Beach, while Christian Redding, a tenor, and alto Emma Tinsley will serve as alternates.
In addition, Emma Harris achieved one of the highest sight-singing scores in the state, allowing her to vie in the Missouri Choral Directors Association-sponsored Sight-Singing Bee at the same event.
Out of nine PBHS juniors and seniors who tried out for All-State, nearly half advanced during the All-District Choir rehearsal in November in Cape Girardeau. Emma Harris went on to display her “high level of musicianship” and “well-developed ear” in a subsequent sight-singing audition, according to Joshua Allen, director of vocal music.
“Sight-singing is reading and singing a musical passage at first sight,” Allen explained. “Students have 20 seconds to prepare from the time they first see the piece.”
The All-State Choir will perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association 84th annual conference Jan. 26-29 in Osage Beach.