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Grain Valley, MO —
Sierra Morgan, a junior at Grain Valley High School, has been selected to perform with The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus. Sierra, a three-year member of Honors Choir and top award recipient at both District and State competition for her ensemble and solo performances, is proud to be representing the state of Missouri this summer. Sierra hopes to attend the Julliard Conservatory of Music in New York City and study opera.
Sierra will join other student musicians chosen from applicants representing nearly every state when The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus begins its 2012 European Concert Tour this July. Selection into The Sound of America membership is a distinguished honor for all participants. All applicants are carefully screened and chosen only after a rigid character and musical evaluation. All student performers will meet on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pa., on June 29. After a rehearsal period of several days, the ensemble presents two “Bon Voyage” concerts, after which the group travels to Europe to perform in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and France.
The ensemble is of all-state caliber, and concerts are well-received by European audiences. Some of the exciting locations that will be visited during the tour are Paris, Venice, Strasbourg, Salzburg, Stresa, Verona, Rothenburg, Grindelwald, and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The honor band is directed by Clyde M. Barr, president of North American Music Festivals and former President of Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) The chorus will be under the direction of Dr. Nancy Klein, professor of choirs at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
Students who have qualified for The Sound of America membership are responsible for all costs involved with the trip and are sometimes sponsored by local businesses and civic clubs.
The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus, celebrating its 36th year in 2012, is recognized as one of the finest and most successful European concert tour programs in existence. It has received international acclaim for its exemplary success in achieving outstanding cultural relationships with European countries. The Sound of America has been recognized for excellence by former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush, as well as from former Pennsylvania Governor and Under-Secretary-General to the United Nations Dick Thornburgh; former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge; and former First Lady and New York Senator and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Additionally, diplomats at foreign and local posts have also applauded the work of SOA. Those include the Cultural Minister of the U.S. Embassy of Paris and Consul General and Minister Counselor for Public Affairs of the US Embassy, Superintendents of the U.S. Cemeteries, and numerous mayors throughout Europe.
If you have any interest in supporting Sierra as she travels overseas to perform, please contact Choirmaster Troy Spradley at Grain Valley High School by phone at 816-847-5000 or mail donations to GVHS c/o Troy Spradley 551 SW Eagles Parkway, Grain Valley, Mo., 64029. Please make donations payable to Sierra Morgan/Sound of America. The Sound of America, Inc. is registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit corporation.
Sierra Morgan, a junior at Grain Valley High School, has been selected to perform with The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus. Sierra, a three-year member of Honors Choir and top award recipient at both District and State competition for her ensemble and solo performances, is proud to be representing the state of Missouri this summer. Sierra hopes to attend the Julliard Conservatory of Music in New York City and study opera.
Sierra will join other student musicians chosen from applicants representing nearly every state when The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus begins its 2012 European Concert Tour this July. Selection into The Sound of America membership is a distinguished honor for all participants. All applicants are carefully screened and chosen only after a rigid character and musical evaluation. All student performers will meet on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pa., on June 29. After a rehearsal period of several days, the ensemble presents two “Bon Voyage” concerts, after which the group travels to Europe to perform in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and France.
The ensemble is of all-state caliber, and concerts are well-received by European audiences. Some of the exciting locations that will be visited during the tour are Paris, Venice, Strasbourg, Salzburg, Stresa, Verona, Rothenburg, Grindelwald, and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The honor band is directed by Clyde M. Barr, president of North American Music Festivals and former President of Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) The chorus will be under the direction of Dr. Nancy Klein, professor of choirs at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
Students who have qualified for The Sound of America membership are responsible for all costs involved with the trip and are sometimes sponsored by local businesses and civic clubs.
The Sound of America Honor Band and Chorus, celebrating its 36th year in 2012, is recognized as one of the finest and most successful European concert tour programs in existence. It has received international acclaim for its exemplary success in achieving outstanding cultural relationships with European countries. The Sound of America has been recognized for excellence by former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush, as well as from former Pennsylvania Governor and Under-Secretary-General to the United Nations Dick Thornburgh; former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge; and former First Lady and New York Senator and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Additionally, diplomats at foreign and local posts have also applauded the work of SOA. Those include the Cultural Minister of the U.S. Embassy of Paris and Consul General and Minister Counselor for Public Affairs of the US Embassy, Superintendents of the U.S. Cemeteries, and numerous mayors throughout Europe.
If you have any interest in supporting Sierra as she travels overseas to perform, please contact Choirmaster Troy Spradley at Grain Valley High School by phone at 816-847-5000 or mail donations to GVHS c/o Troy Spradley 551 SW Eagles Parkway, Grain Valley, Mo., 64029. Please make donations payable to Sierra Morgan/Sound of America. The Sound of America, Inc. is registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit corporation.
