The six Haines School students traveling to All-State with their choir teacher Kristy Kissinger-Totten.
Six Haines high school students are traveling to Anchorage this week to sing in the All-State Music Festival. It’s like a state-wide basketball or baseball championship, but for choir, orchestra and band.
The Haines students auditioned by submitting recordings of themselves to the Alaska School Activities Association.
Out of about 20 who auditioned this year, these six made the cut.
They are Madeline Andriesen, Rachel Haas, Kyle Klinger, Neil Little, Lindsey Jobbins and Olivia Wing.
Andriesen and Jobbins took part in All-State last year.
“A lot of time in Alaska the towns are smaller, so the choirs are most likely smaller, so singing in a huge group like that is a really good experience for singers,” Andriesen said.
This year, 590 students from around Alaska auditioned for the choir and 175 were selected. They’re divided into an all-women’s choir and a mixed choir. Three Haines students are in each.
Neil Little says he’s looking forward to being around other students who are serious about music.
“It’s a devotion,” Little said. “A deeper devotion to music.”
Choir teacher Kristy Kissinger-Totten is traveling with the students.
“I”m really excited about it,” she said. ” The group is always nervous before they go, because it’s all new music, it’s really hard, it’s challenging for them. Whereas when they get there, they have some rehearsals singing with the other kids and they get really charged up. The energy level just rises.”
The group leaves for Anchorage Tuesday. They’ll have a couple days of rehearsal before their big performance Saturday at West Anchorage High School.
