Bethel High School Students to Perform with the 2013 NAfME All-National Honors Ensembles

BHS Seniors Danica Cosme and Sophomores Addison Daniels and Heather Zwosta selected to participate in event at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN 

October 27-30, 2013, Nashville, TN:  Danica Cosme, Addison Daniels and Heather Zwosta from Bethel High School in Spanaway, WA, have been selected as members of the 2013 NAfME All-National Honor Mixed Chorus, sponsored by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Cosme, Daniels and Zwosta will join more than 670 of the most musically talented and skilled high school students in the United States to perform at a gala concert on October 30, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee.

These exceptional students will prepare remarkably challenging music that they will perform under the baton of four of the most prominent conductors in the United States:   Dr. Peter Boonshaft, Miriam Burns, Rollo Dilworth, and Rodney Whitaker.

“I am so proud of the individual work that these students put into their music each and every day.  All three of them are leaders in our choral program at Bethel and have proven themselves worthy of such an honor,” said their teacher, Nicholas Gorne.

“I thought it was a long shot when I sent in my audition video,” remarked Cosme, “When I found out in July that all three of us had been chosen, I was ecstatic.”

Cosme and Zwosta are both Alto II’s and Daniels is a Bass II.  “For any one of my students to make it into a national choir is mind-boggling, let alone three,” said Gorne.  The three will join only eight other students who qualified from the state of Washington.

The NAfME All-National Honors Ensembles, consisting of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed chorus,  and jazz ensemble, are organized by members of the National Association for Music Education. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have approximately 150 instrumentalists, the jazz ensemble will have 20 instrumentalists, and the mixed chorus will have approximately 350 vocalists. Eligible students have qualified for their state-level honor ensemble program and competed against top students for a spot in these national honor ensembles.

The 2013 NAfME All-National Honors Ensembles will perform for an audience of thousands on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, in the Presidential Ballroom of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, in Nashville, TN. For program and ticket information please visit http://musiced.nafme.org/all-national-honor-ensembles/. To view a complete roster of participating students, go to http://musiced.nafme.org/all-national-honor-ensembles/2013-rosters/.

National Association for Music Education, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association orchestrates success for millions of students nationwide and has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century.

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