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WHS Senior Selected as Member of 2006 All-State Choir

Havelka Earns "Highest Musical Honor" in Nebraska

Katie Snyder & Nebraska Music Educators Association Press Release on October 30, 2006

WHS Senior Cassie Havelka

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WHS Senior Cassie Havelka

Each year, over 2,000 of the best high school musicians in the state audition for the Nebraska All-State Band, Chorus, Jazz Band, and Orchestra, which are sponsored by the Nebraska Music Educators Association.

Selection as a member of one of these groups is one of the highest musical honors attainable in Nebraska.

Mr. Mark Butler, Chair of Choral Affairs for the Nebraska Music Educators Association, is pleased to announce that WHS senior Cassie Havelka, Alto, will be among the 450 students selected to be a part of the 2006 All-State Choir.

"I have always loved to sing and I figured I would try out to compete against the best in the state," Havelka commented. After trying out for the past two years, Havelka is ecstatic about having made the honor choir for the first time.

This past June, WHS students received seven music selections from the Nebraska Music Educators Association to use for try-outs. To learn their parts, students practiced with CD's and with WHS Vocal Music Director Audra Barrick.

The night before auditions, students were notified of the three to four pieces of music they would be asked to perform during the actual try-outs. There ar ten audition sites throughout Nebraska, and on October 14, WHS students traveled to Lincoln Northeast High School at 7:00 a.m., where they were separately called into rooms to audition.

Guest conductor for the group will be Dennis K. Cox, Director of Choral Activities and Graduate Coordinator, University of Maine, Orono. The choir will rehearse Thursday, November 16 through Saturday, November 18 on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

"Cassie has a beautiful voice," commented Barrick. "She is such a hard worker and has spent countless hours learning and perfecting her music. She really deserves this honor!"

The final All-State Music Performances will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2006, at the Lied Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The All-State Jazz Band and All-State Choir will perform at 4:30 p.m., and the All-State Orchestra and All-State Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Tickets can be ordered through the Lied Center box office at $10 per ticket per concert. Seating is very limited, and parents of all-state students will have first priority.