Courtesy of Tabitha Unruh
Huron High School held its annual music awards ceremony on Monday, May 4. Here are the vocal music awards:
The Choral Letter
Students need to accumulate 50 points by participating in vocal ensembles and events. These points are based on activities they are involved in outside of being in choir, so any audition they have, All State Choir, Solo/ensemble, and when they sing the Anthem they get points for that, and then any time they sing out in the community gets counted as well.
Students earning a choir letter this year are:
Hayden Spencer
Mylie Byrd
Lydia Cook
Nay Hendrickson
Oakley Anderson
Chloe Carr
Alyse Davis
Jencie Goergen
Hylton Heinz
Kyla Peskey
Leo Schumacher
Nolan Stahly
Molly Whitney
Yoselyn Yanes
Paw Hser
Wai Wai Lin
Eh Dah Paw
Brian Ptak
Chalie Sah
Emerson Sarvis
Hsa Eh Wah
Avery Ashbaugh
Kash Baribeau
Claire Davis
Henry Kruse
Emmersyn McGillvrey
Idella Meyer
Snow Wah
Lydia Beck
After a student earns their Choral Letter they are given a gold bar to signify their next points earning. Students that are receiving bars are:
Jonah Beck
Karly Knippling
Davis Osier
Samuel Radke
Cooper Bischoff
Charles Bragg
Jeremy Hofer
Ty Kleinsasser
Teagan Lien
Hailey Schoenfelder
One of the extra opportunities choir students can participate in is the Madrigals. Students audition, and rehearse outside of the school day and performs at the concerts, Salvation Army Xmas Basket, Prom, Baccalaureate, and other various community events throughout the school year. Students receiving a pin for their participation in Mads are:
Karly Knippling
Hailey Schoenfelder
Claire Davis
Emmersyn McGillvrey
Avery Ashbaugh
Chalie Sah
Molly Whitney
Yoselyn Yanes
Snow Wah
Wai Wai Lin
Henry Kruse
Jonah Beck
Davis Osier
Sam Radke
Cooper Bischoff
Kash Baribeau
Jeremy Hofer
Charlie Bragg
Teagan Lien
Emerson Sarvis
Music Clinic was held on March 5 at the High School. Band/Choir/and Orchestra students participated in solo/ensemble contest as well as the large groups were adjudicated. Dr. Holdhuesen from USD was our adjudicator, and I am so happy we had him, he was so well articulated and it was good for the students to hear someone else say some of the things that I probably have said already but in a different way. 19 solos and 5 ensembles participated, with 12 solos and 4 ensembles receiving Superiors. Students getting a pin for being a Superior ensemble are:
Idella Meyer
Avery Ashbaugh
Wai Wai LIn
Chalie Sah
Emerson Sarvis
Teagan Lien
Henry Kruse
Ian Larson
Snow Wah
Hsa Eh Wah
Suelay Maung
Markdar Lain
Mara Pell
Maleya Moser
Superior Solos earning a Pin:
Colby Casper
Lydia Beck
Maleya Moser
Paulette Velez-Sanchez
Mara Pell
Nevaeh Garcia
Jonah Beck
Davis Osier
Cooper Bischoff
Emmersyn McGillvrey
Karly Knippling
Jeremy Hofer
All State Chorus & Orchestra was held November 1st and 2nd in Sioux Falls. Students are selected by audition with the director. Each school brings a number of quartets based on the enrollment of the school, so our school was able to bring four quartets this year. Pins are awarded from SDHSAA to the ASC participants. Those students who represented Huron in the 2026 ASC are:
Lydia Beck
Morgan Bultje
Idella Meyer
Claire Davis
Snow Wah
Hsa Eh Wah
Kolby Glanzer
Molly Whitney
Davis Osier
Cooper Bischoff
Jonah Beck
Colby Casper
Ty Kleinsasser
Charlie Bragg
Jeremy Hofer
Kash Baribeau
The American Choral Directors of America has a Junior Honor Choir. This is for grades 7-9, and they submit an audition and get chosen to create 2 choirs, SSA and SATB. This year, I had 14 students audition and 1 get into the SSA choir and 1 in SATB. We go to Rapid, and they spent 2 days practicing for the concert on Saturday afternoon. I would like to recognize those 2 for their participation: Lydia Beck and Mara Pell
Every year a few students go through the rigorous audition process in hopes of securing a spot in the ACDA Senior Honor Choir. This event is open to only sophomores and juniors, and is a week in the summer. 150 students from across the state are selected, and perform a concert at the end of that week. The students that are selected to this ensemble are among the best of the best in the state. Jonah Beck and Cooper Bischoff were selected last year, and went to it this summer, so they earn an Honor pin.
I want to recognize the four that auditioned for Senior Honor Choir this year, and did very well in their auditions. Cooper Bischoff, Hailey Schoenfelder, Emmersyn McGillvrey, Jeremy Hofer. Cooper and Jeremy were selected, so they will be participating this July.
The Peppers Scholarship Fund is available for those students who want to pursue music over the summer with lessons, music camps or workshops. The Gale and Clara Peppers Scholarship is sponsored by their son Dr. Gerald and Wes, and their families. The family owned the music store in Huron for many years. They have always been interested in promoting fine arts. Congratulations to Jeremy and Cooper as this scholarship will help the costs of the Senior Honor Choir.
The next award is the Choir G.O.A.T. Now, normally GOAT means Great of All Time, but I have decided to change it to G – Gives their all O – Outstanding teammate . A – Always prepared . T – Totally brings the vibe. I can agree with the students as they have chosen someone who fits this description perfectly, and that is Molly Whitney.
The Director’s Award for Chorus is chosen by the director for a student that is an outstanding, exemplary student in choir. This student is a leader to their class, and has dedication to music. This award is given to a Freshman, and this student went to the All State Choir, Junior Honor Choir, has sung the Anthem at activities, participated in solo/ensemble, as well as sings in her church. This year it goes to Lydia Beck.
Fred Waring was one of the leading choral conductors of the 20th century. He was a composer, arranger, popular music promoter, band leader, and national television personality. His choral group, The Pennsylvanians helped to spread the popularity of choral singing across the country. He has been called, “The man who taught America how to sing”.
The Fred Waring Director’s Award for chorus is given to recognize the talent and enthusiasm of outstanding choral members. This award will be going to a junior and will be going to Cooper Bischoff.
The final choral award is the National Choral award. This prestigious national award is the highest recognition that can be given to a high school choral student. The award recognizes an outstanding four year commitment to the vocal music program and a high level of musical achievement.
The certificate accompanying the award reads “In recognition of singular merit, ability, and achievement of outstanding contributions to the success of the school vocal program, and of an unusual degree of loyalty, cooperation and high qualities of conduct”.
This senior, in addition to their 4-year commitment to choir, has been a 3-year All-State member, 3-year Madrigals member, auditioned and participated in both years Senior Honor Choir, taken a solo all 4 years to Solo/Ensemble Contest, a nd has participated in other opportunities that involve singing not just in the classroom. The national Choral Award goes to Jonah Beck.
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