Cranberry’s All State All Star
Written by Jenna Seigworth 3/5/20
Cranberry’s All State All Star
For the first time in over eight years, a student from Cranberry High School has qualified to participate in the PMEA All State Choir Festival.
Trevor Gladin, a senior at CHS, chaired fourth place at the Regional Choir Festival held on Saturday, February 29th in the Bass Two Section and earned himself a chance to sing in the All State Competition.
When asked how this accomplishment made him feel, Gladin responded, “It feels really good. Our community has been so supportive throughout this entire process.”
To get to where he is now, Gladin participated in the District Choir competition, where he auditioned with two out of eight choral pieces, one foreign language and one classical choral piece, that he learned before the festival. There, he chaired sixth, and was then able to move on to the Regional Choir Festival. Although he has participated in Districts once before, this was his first time qualifying to go on to Regions.
Trevor Gladin, senior student at Cranberry High School, with his All-State Festival folder of music that he must learn in order to compete (photograph taken by Joe Gunn)
Then, he was given nine new pieces to learn for the Regional Choir. He was given six weeks to prepare for the next competition. At Regions, he auditioned with two foreign language pieces.
To qualify for All State, one must chair in the top four, a feat that has not been done by a Cranberry Student in over eight years. Gladin, with plentiful hard work, was able to place fourth and earn himself a spot at the All State Competition.
Preston Yoder, the choir teacher at Cranberry High School and Trevor’s mentor for the competition, was beaming with pride when I asked him about his success:
“It's extremely exciting and satisfying for him! I can remember him specifically from seventh grade and years past always being a hard worker and never complaining. He truly deserves this experience and all that it has to offer.”
For those who have never been to a PMEA Festival, Gladin was adamant in communicating the impact that it could have on someone:
“To put it in short, the amount of music driven people around here is really put into perspective at a festival. You get more of an idea of what the talent is, and how abundant it is at a festival. You learn more about the genres and styles of music that is out there than you ever would in a high school choir. It’s all about the diversity of people and music.”
The All State Festival will begin in the Poconos on April 22nd, have four days of rehearsal, and then the concert will occur on the 25th.
Gladin would have to chair in the top ten of the Bass Twos to qualify to All East. However, unlike Region or Districts, auditioning for chairs occurs weeks before the festival. Gladin will find out which two pieces he’s auditioning with on March 16th, and send in his video audition by the 20th. He will know his chairing the following week, and then continue to prepare for the concert in the following month.
Gladin notes that he would like to thank Mr. Yoder, all of his friends, his parents, and Mr. Smith for all of their support.