Every year, more than 1,400 singers nationwide audition for a chance to be named to the American Choral Directors Association’s National Honors Choir. Out of those hopefuls, only 300 performers are selected.
This year, Cherry Hill East will have a representative in that prestigious group.
Hannah Kim, an 18-year-old senior, will travel to Salt Lake City in February for the ACDA’s 2015 National Conference as a member of the National Honors Choir. Kim was just one of 40 alto one performers selected.
“I was very shocked,” Kim said of the selection. “I knew the chances of making it in were very slim.”
Only a few Cherry Hill East students audition for the national choir each year. Out of those, even fewer are selected to travel to the conference.
Despite the odds, Kim was determined to take a shot at auditioning.
“I saw some of our upperclassmen in our school were participating in it in previous years,” Kim said. “Out of curiosity, I decided to just try it.”
For her audition, Kim performed as the alto one as part of a quartet. A song was recorded and sent to the ACDA, which then later informed Kim of her selection in the fall.
Laurie Lausi, the choral director at Cherry Hill East, said Kim’s selection is indicative of how much she has grown as a singer since her freshman year.
“Hannah has just been such a great leader in our department,” Lausi said.
Kim is serving as the president of Cherry Hill East’s Women’s Choir and is also the director for Voce, a vocal group at the department.
Leadership skills were something Kim developed during her time with the Cherry Hill East chorus.
“Being in choir, I learned a lot about stepping out of my bubble and learning how to take a risk,” Kim said. “As I got used to it, I learned that taking a risk is not as scary as I thought.”
Chorus has always been Kim’s favorite class. She said singing has touched her in almost indescribable ways.
“There’s kind of an out-of-body experience when you’re singing in a choir,” Kim said. “There’s a moment of being complete. There are a lot of times where I felt emotionally in-touch. The experience I get from choral music is incredible.”
Being able to attend the ACDA conference gives Kim a chance to not only perform with some of the best high school singers in the world, but also with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Kim will also get to meet with thousands of choral directors from across the country who attend the event annually.
“This is definitely something beyond my expectations and experiences,” Kim said.
When Cherry Hill East has sent students to the conference in the past, Lausi said they not only come back as better singers, but also as better people.
“They just come back changed as musicians and as people,” Lausi said. “It’s really neat for them to share that music and bond.”
Kim plans to be a music education major in college and hopes to become a director one day. She thinks her trip to Salt Lake City in February will bring her even closer to fulfilling her dream.
