Saline High School Choir Students Perform at the MSU Choral Invitational

The Saline High School Advanced Chamber Choir had the unique opportunity to perform in this year’s Choral Invitational at Michigan State University. This is an annual event each fall that includes around 8 top high school choirs from around the state of Michigan.

At the invitational, which was held earlier this month, the students worked with MSU choral professor Meredith Bowen and listened to performances by the other terrific choirs also in attendance. To learn more, the Sun Times News caught up Sarah Deas, the Director of Choirs at Saline High School (SHS).

At the event, each choir had a block of time to perform and receive a clinic session with a guest clinician from MSU. The choirs get tips and ideas from this master teacher to work on their singing and ensemble skills. Deas said this year’s clinician was Dr. Meredith Bowen, who is the newest choral professor at MSU.

Each session at the event also featured a performance from one of the choral ensembles from MSU. The choir students also got lunch together in East Lansing, and had a chance to explore the downtown area a bit.

When asked why this was a unique opportunity and how it was significant, Deas said there were multiple reasons.

“This event is a fabulous learning opportunity for our high schoolers to learn from a new teacher,” Deas said. “They have perfected their repertoire in the classroom, and it’s so vital to get new ideas and perspectives from other musicians and teachers. We made immediate strides with Dr. Bowen’s guidance that not only enriched our recent repertoire, but helped to build better vocal technique for the rest of the year.”

She said students also learned a lot while watching the clinician work with other choirs and thinking critically about the sound and how adjustments are being made to make it even better.

“It’s a great day of team bonding and fun camaraderie in a new musical setting,” Deas said. “Lunch in small groups gives singers a chance to foster new friendships.”

The visit to the MSU campus also gave students experience where they can envision themselves on a college campus, and consider their options of how to sing in the future at the university level.

In getting selected for the event, Saline was contacted by the MSU Choral Department and was invited. The Saline Chamber Choir consistently receives Division 1 ratings at MSVMA events like Solo & Ensemble and Choral Festival. It also helped that Deas went to MSU for both her undergraduate and master’s degrees, so the professor’s are very familiar with her work and the Saline Choral Program. 

The Chamber Choir is like Saline’s “Varsity Choir,” Deas said. It’s made up of 10th-12th graders that sing Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass.

“This is a fast-paced, dedicated group of singers that performs advanced repertoire” Deas said. “They are our premiere ensemble at SHS, and an audition is required to be a part of the group.”

The choir and its subgroups have previously performed at the Michigan Music Conference, the MSVMA All-State Festival, the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, at Chicago Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, and on a European tour to Prague and Austria in 2019.

Photo: The Saline High School Advanced Chamber Choir at the Choral Invitational at MSU. Photo courtesy of Saline High School