High school choir students from schools across New Hampshire and Vermont recently gathered in the Redfern’s Alumni Recital Hall for a celebration of choral music.
On October 18, Keene State hosted the 15th annual Cantate! Music Festival, where visiting high school choirs performed and received feedback from a team of four adjudicators made up of Keene State’s Music Department faculty. The high school students also watched performances from three of Keene State’s vocal music groups.
Five high school choirs were invited to participate in the festival, including
the Brattleboro Union High School Chorus conducted by Julie Ackerman-Hovis, the Keene High School Choir conducted by Matthew Leese, Milford High School Advanced Vocal Studies conducted by Jennifer Erdody, the Goffstown High School Select Vocal Ensemble conducted by Christopher Belding and the Timberlane Regional High School Concert choir conducted by Robert Finch and Susan Howard.
The day began with a group warm up led by Dr. Daniel Carberg, professor of music at Keene State. Following the warmup, each of the five visiting groups performed two songs and then had an onstage feedback clinic with one of the four clinicians from the Keene State Music Department.
The team of clinicians was made up of four Keene State Music Professors, including Carberg, Dr. Sandra Howard, Dr. Evangelia Leontis and Professor Morgan Bothwell.
After each of the high school choirs had performed, they all got the opportunity to watch performances from three of Keene State’s vocal ensembles. These groups included the Keene State College Chamber Singers conducted by Howard, the Keene Vocal Consort conducted by Bothwell and the Keene State College Concert Choir also conducted by Howard.
Additionally, two of the KSC Concert Choir’s songs featured student conductors and seniors Amber Farrell and Peter Labonte. Farrell conducted a song for the soprano/alto voices in the group, while Labonte conducted a tenor/bass selection.
Labonte, who is studying music education, said that this was his second year participating in the festival, but it was his first time conducting a group during the event. According to Labonte, he took the opportunity because it was something that he thought he would enjoy, and it could help him expand his musical knowledge.
“I want to be an educator, and a big part of being an educator is leading rehearsals,” said Labonte. “This is my experience doing that before I go out into the real world.”
Labonte continued, “I’m hoping to get a better idea of my own voice … What do I like in the music that I’m producing? What do I not like? And how can I convey the musical message to not just my ensemble members, but also to my audience as well?”
Finally, after Keene State’s musical performances, the festival came to a conclusion with all of the groups collaborating for an “all-sing” performance of a song called “Undivided” by Karen Marrolli. Following this, the high school students were given the opportunity to take a tour of the Keene State campus.
“This annual event is one of the largest recruitment events that the music department hosts on campus, and from this Cantate! Festival, over the years, we’ve yielded students to come to Keene State,” said Howard. “This festival is sometimes unknown by people across campus, but it’s one of the ways that we make those connections with high schoolers and their teachers to try to be sure that Keene State is on their mind as they’re considering colleges after high school.”
Justin Dearborn can be reached at
