After three rigorous days of auditions and countless hours preparing, five students were selected to be part of a specially crafted team. Natalie Collier, Kayla Pierce, Hieu Hoang, Garrett Burgon, and Zach Heinlein will perform on November 6 at the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem for the NC Music Educators Conference along with 178 other singers. This is the largest number of students to be seated for Honors Chorus.

Wakefield High School is proud to have a strong group of vocally gifted students who will be performing this year in the annual North Carolina Honors Chorus production.

The Honors Chorus program has been around for many years and has provided students the chance to enrich their singing abilities. Students are given music over the course of weeks in which they can familiarize themselves with the songs they must learn. Then they are asked to have one day to meet as a large group to practice and then must perform the next day in front of a large audience. This allows children to think on their feet and to be able to perform in a professional environment.

Chorus teacher, Phillip Mullinux, views the program highly and believes it is a great opportunity for his students.

“Honors Chorus had been going on for a very long time,” Mullinax said. “Schools participate and children audition, this year being one of the largest audition groups with 1000 students. It’s very gratifying seeing my students in the program because I understand how difficult it is to get in. A couple years ago we didn’t have people that consistently got into the program, but that has changed in recent years.”

Some of the students, such as senior Kayla Pierce, have been in the program for a number of years and have been singing for a long time.

“It started with my grandpa, he was very into singing so I remember joining church choir at a really young age,” Pierce said.  “At about ten I started actively participating in chorus and I’ve been doing it ever since.  This is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

Students who have been a part of the Wakefield chorus program have all claimed it has improved their academics and has given them more confidence in everyday life. Junior Zachary Heinlein explains that over the years the program has helped him on a personal level that has allowed him to open up and be himself.

“My freshman year I had a lot of anxiety about singing in front of people and I feel like chorus has really helped me be more confident in my abilities,” Heinlein said. “I remember freshman year in my chorus class we had to sing a solo and I remember just shaking after I was finished. Just to think here I am two years later going to be part of Honors Chorus is incredible.”

With only a year of chorus experience Hieu Hoang agrees that the program has taught him a lot during the short period he has been a singer in the program.

“Chorus pretty much taught me what it means to live,” Hoang said. “ It has taught me so many valuable lessons that I will carry without me through life. I have learned to be more confidant, to be a leader, and to also be a good friend. I feel so honored to have gotten the opportunities that I have had.”

NC Honors Chorus and Wakefield Chorus have both given these five students along with many more the chance to grow as individuals. Many continue to strive to become better singers and feel a great hunger to improve both in their singing abilities and as individuals. Mullinux is a teacher many of the students look up to and view him as a very motivating person. He has helped many on their journey to success.

“The Wakefield chorus program has really helped me develop as a singer and prepare for being part of the Honors program,” Heinlein said. “I’m really excited to continue to develop as a singer and I believe I am on the right road to making this a potential career for myself.”