My Choral Experience and Philosophy I was in my very first choir in Kindergarten.

It was a church choir, and the age ranged from 5 years old to 8 years old. We sang really simple songs and did little dance motions along with them, and the congregation always thought it was adorable. I always cried when I left because I wanted to stay and sing some more I was completely hooked on choir at the mere age of 5! In elementary school, music was always my favorite class, and I did choir at my church every single year. When we got to 3rd grade at church, we went to a more advanced choir that actually used real music sometimes. It was a big deal, and I was so excited about it. Fifth grade, however, was my first real choir experience. My elementary school had a 5th grade choir that was optional, but of course I joined and I loved it. Also, I auditioned for the Youth Honors Choral Program at my local community theatre, which had choirs for elementary and middle school aged students. I made that choir, and that was my first true auditioned choir experience. When I graduated from elementary school, I went to my music teacher and told her that I wanted to be a music teacher like her when I grew up. Im so glad thats happening! Once I got to middle school, I got more and more involved. I was still in Youth Honors, and we actually got to travel every year I went to Cleveland, Toronto (which was amazing!), and Chicago and performed with the choir. I also did choir at my middle school every year, and joined a Vocal Jazz ensemble that my teacher started. I got involved in musicals in middle school as well, and I joined the orchestra in 6th grade. Also, in 7th and 8th grade I auditioned for the

MSVMA (Michigan School Vocal Music Association) honors choir, and got to perform in Ann Arbor. High school was a whole different ball game! In my high school, as a freshman you must be in the non-auditioned choir, and once youre a sophomore you can try out for the Chamber Choir. The non-auditioned choir at my high school was pretty terrible, but it was a good experience. My teacher often let me lead warm-ups, because she knew I had a lot of experience. After that year, I was in the Chamber Choir, and we did a lot of fun performances around town. One of my favorite concerts we did was with Jodi Benson, who was the voice of The Little Mermaid! It was so fun to perform with someone famous. Whenever my teacher was absent, she would let me lead the choir, and I got a lot of great experience from that. My town also had an auditioned ensemble called the High School Womens Choir, and I was in that all four years of high school. We did some fun performances, including a performance at an ACDA convention in Ann Arbor. Another fun choral experience I had in high school was Interlochen, which is a summer music camp. I went to Interlochen two summers in a row, and got to be in a huge choir directed by an awesome choral director. Not only did I meet a ton of friends who loved choir as much as I did, but I also got to talk to a lot of choral directors and see what their jobs and lives were like. Thats really when I realized I truly wanted to do this as a profession seeing how much dedication and passion they had for their ensembles made me realize how badly I wanted to have an ensemble someday. I came home one summer and met up with my

high school choir teacher, who gave me a lot of advice and words of encouragement about becoming a music teacher. She encouraged me a lot, and helped me to solidify my decision to enter this field. When the time came to look at universities, I talked to my aunt, who was an IU graduate. She strongly encouraged me to attend the Jacobs School of Music, so I decided to apply. I also applied to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. Immediately after being here, I knew this is where I wanted to go. I loved the campus, I loved the various choral opportunities, I loved the faculty that I met, and I loved just the general feel of the university. Thankfully, I was accepted, and continue to love this school more and more! Im so excited to be a choral director, and Im incredibly grateful for every teacher Ive had. If it werent for their encouragement, I may not be here today!