Four Libby students chosen to sing in honor choirs at Oregon conference

The recent selection of four Libby students to sing in honors choirs at an upcoming regional conference has their choral instructor exclaiming “Go Loggers!”

The students — sixth-graders Cheyenne Neilson and Savannah Lucas and high schoolers Mikalyn Zeiler and Laurynn Lauer — will perform during the American Choral Directors Association’s All Northwest Division conference, which takes place March 7 to March 10 in Portland.

Neilson and Lucas will sing in the Grades 5-7 Intermediate Honor Choir, and Zeiler and Lauer in the Soprano-Alto High School Honor Choir.

“These students who participate are the cream of the crop,” Lorraine Braun, Libby schools choral instructor, said via email. “They are gifted not only with superb musical talent but with self-motivation and a desire to excel with the things that are important to them and to life. I am very proud to have some of our local musicians in these choirs.”

According to the nonprofit Association’s website, thousands of students audition every year for the chance to sing at one of the state, division or national conferences. They apply by submitting taped recordings of songs selected by the Association, which is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was established in 1959 “to promote excellence in choral music through performance, composition, publication, research and teaching,” the website states.

Braun said the Association had selected three other Libby students — Brendon Kack, Sarah Kirschenmann and Halen Graziano — to participate at past conferences.

“These four girls (this year) are examples of what a Libby Logger is made of,” Braun wrote. “They will indeed represent our community in a very positive manner (and) they truly will come back better musicians and all-around students than before.”