Each year in November, 50 high schools from several different districts throughout New England come to Plymouth State University for a choral festival of immense magnitude. The All New England Choral Festival is comprised of the best high school vocalists in New England for the purpose of education.
Music teachers from each high school bring their brightest musicians to work together with many other shining pupils to create experience possibly only comparable only to the prestigious All-State Music Festival. In most high schools it is not possible to create the kind of intense musical atmosphere that is created in a large group festival like All New England because of varying talent levels, however, in this festival students get to hear what it sounds like when everyone in the group is a top-level musician.
“It’s amazing,” claimed Kate Siggins, a senior at White Mountain Regional High School. “Everyone wants to be here, and everyone sings.”
And sing they do. This year’s All New England Choral Festival featured a challenging repertoire of pieces composed by Plymouth State University faculty, including students, respected names on this campus, as those well as those in the music education field like: Dr. Jonathan Santore, Dr. Robert F. Swift, and undergraduate student Daniel Formidoni.
All day, these high school students practice, rehearse, audition for solos, and generally live out their dream. Many of these kids are like Siggins; they have grown up in musical households where dads played guitars or moms sang children to bed with lullabies. They work hard in school and progress in their understanding of music so that they can come to Plymouth State and work with the talented music educators that work here.
One such educator, Dr. Daniel Perkins, brings an amazing list of accomplishments to the All New England Music Festival and the experience that goes along with them. According to his biography on Plymouth State’s Music, Theatre and Dance department website, Perkins studied for two years in Helsinki, Finland as a Fulbright scholar, worked as the associate conductor of the Savonlinna Opera Festival Chorus, the associate director of the Finnish Chamber Choir, and the principle guest conductor of the Vietnam National Opera. He also led the New Hampshire Master Choral to amazing performances in the United States, Canada, South Africa, England and Italy. His credentials made him a natural choice to lead the festival this year.
“Bringing together 270 high school students and their directors from 50 different schools throughout New England is a huge task,” explained Perkins, “but standing up in front of that crowd and working all day to unite them in the music is quite exciting. It’s a great way to show these students what music at PSU is all about.”
Contact the Silver Center for the Arts at 535-ARTS for information on upcoming events.