For the love of music

Two Valley girls were recently selected to the American Choral Directors Association's national honor choirs, one of the highest honors young voices can earn.

"It's like a small-town kid getting drafted in the NBA by the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was there," said Cambria Moss, 17, who was chosen for the National Women's Choir, which consisted of women ages 16 to 67.

"That's how big of a deal it was for us to go," Moss said.

Sarah Hendricks, a 14-year-old freshman at Colony High School, participated in the Junior High/Middle School National Choir at the Feb. 12-15 New York City event, and she came away from the experience a better person, she said, because of the people surrounding her.

"I think it was so much fun because of the people I met," Hendricks said. "Here, you say you're in choir, and someone will say, 'Oh, you're in choir.' There, it was like 'Whoa, that's great. What's your favorite musical?'

"We all had our favorites and we would sit up for hours in our off time talking about music," Hendricks said. "I've never had that experience before. I'll be keeping in contact with those people."

Moss said the same thing.

"What a growing experience it was for me because I was around people who love music and work hard to succeed in music," Moss said. "What a blessing."

There were three Alaskans in the 350-person Junior High/Middle School Choir, and only two Alaskans in the 275-person National Women's Choir.

Moss said the National Women's Choir is made up mostly of college students. She graduated from Colony at the semester break, and will be attending college in the fall.

There is a highly selective process for the national choir, and only the best voices in the country are chosen to participate.

"The girls had to submit tapes that were evaluated," said Janet Stotts, the girls' voice coach and leader of the Alaska Childrens' Choir. Stotts attended the ACDA convention, taking in several choir performances from groups around the world.

The tapes, Stotts explained, must include octave scales, examples of the vocalists' range, a few mandatory selections and an individual song.

The winners are selected to perform as one group at the ACDA convention, in front of thousands of people, and the leading directors and conductors from around the world. Select choirs also come to the convention to perform, and this year, that included a group from Fairbanks.

At the national level, the national honor choirs are chosen only once every two years.

At the regional level, the choirs are chosen every year. Stotts said it is important for high school students to get the opportunity to travel outside Alaska.

"Being in Alaska, they don't get exposed to a lot of choral groups," Stotts said of young choral members. "When they go to things like the honor choir, they come back learning more than they ever thought they would.

"Trips like this show that they can dream and push themselves, and be rewarded," Stotts said.

While it was a nice break from Alaska, the trip was hardly a vacation. Hendricks said a usual day for her was rehearsals from 9 a.m. to about 10:45 a.m., and after a half hour break, it was right back to rehearsal until dinner. Some evenings, there was an additional rehearsal.

"We were practicing eight to 10 hours a day," Hendricks said. "You don't go to play. You go to learn."

Moss said she learned a lot just by being around others more experienced than herself.

"I was one of the youngest members in the choir, and it opened the door for me to talk to a lot of people who have gone through or are going through college studying music, and just the chance to talk about everything with them was worth it for me," Moss said.

For Hendricks, the environment of New York City was one of the biggest learning experiences.

"When I was in the Theatre District, we went by Julliard and people were out singing.

"You can sing in the shower there and your roommate isn't going to tell you to shut up," Hendricks said with a laugh. "We saw the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Julliard. I want to do that. That's what I want to do with my life."

Both girls agreed that while their talent was a big reason they were picked, it was their instructor, Stotts, who should get most of the credit. "What an opportunity for kids in the Valley to have her right here to learn from," Moss said. "She is top-notch for the world, and she is right here in Palmer. I know I wouldn't have been there without her."

Hendricks said having Stotts as an instructor has been vital to her growth as a performer.

"I had no voice coach until this year, when I met Janet," Hendricks explained. "She has taught me everything."