The Young Patriots choir has seen many successes this year from performing around the community to being selected for the West Virginia Honor Choir. Their most recent success was getting selected to perform at the event Arts Alive on April 26, 2024. The choir spent a little over a month preparing for the final performance in Charleston. After hearing about the event choir director Joyce Jingle knew she had to sign the Young Patriots up for the event.
“I knew that this particular group of Young Patriots was exceptional. I wanted to try to give them as much exposure as possible especially on the state level,” said Jingle. “Following our honor choir concert at the music conference the choir director from Cabel Midland encouraged us to apply.”
The Young Patriots were the closing performance of the whole show getting to show off their music to the state capitol once more.
“We were permitted to perform two selections. I chose if ever I would leave you from Camelot because of the skill level and musical intricacies in the arrangement. It also featured two outstanding soloists, Brennen Frey and Faith Randolph. For our second selection, the choir wanted to learn something new which I have to give them a lot of credit for… So I presented a relatively new choral arrangement of Apple Tree by Norwegian singer and songwriter Aurora, and they ate it up! It was a contrasting style to their first piece, so it reflected their versatility. In addition, they were asked to close the program with a candlelight version of my home among the hills. I think they have started a new tradition!” Said Mrs. Jingle.
This experience provided the students with a new perspective on music programs around the state including their own.
“My experience as a Young Patriot, and all of the concerts and competitions throughout, has made me realize how much of a privilege Wheeling Park students have. Our arts program, from what I’ve seen while in Young Patriots, is one of the best and should not be taken for granted,” said Rylee Birkett a senior in the Young Patriots choir. “I have learned that our music program is diverse and challenging, only further encouraging students of Wheeling Park to go beyond what they believe their skill set to be and truly do something great with it,” said Birkett.
Many of the students enjoyed viewing the performance and its entirety while waiting to go on stage. With a variety of acts from various schools, it was hard to be bored during the show.
“I enjoyed both flute solos and the Winfield Show Choir! You could tell they were really well prepared and had a lot of passion for their art,” said Mackenzie Kret, a junior in the Young Patriots choir.
All of the choir members had a blast getting to perform once more as a group, however getting to be a part of this performance was no easy feat. With over a hundred applicants the Young Patriots shined through and clearly made an impression on the judges.
“There were over 130 entries and only 26 were selected for the performance, including concert band, jazz band, choir, show choir, instrumental and vocal soloists, and theater groups in both high school, middle school, and elementary,” said Jingle.
With this being one of the many successes of this year’s Young Patriots choir this all leads to the pressure for next year’s group.
“I think we will have more pressure going into our next year as many members of the current Young Patriots group will be graduating. However, I feel confident that the upcoming Young Patriots will be able to uphold the success we have achieved this year,” said Kret.
The Young Patriots have time and time again proved their success and there will be so much more to come for the future groups as long as they uphold this legacy that has been left behind by the previous groups.
