During the 2017-18 school year, along with other talented music students across the United States and overseas in military base schools, Catskill High School choral student Edward Donahue practiced with dedication to gain a part in his local, zone, and state music honor ensembles.
This school year, Ed joined the “best of the best” for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) 2018 All-National Honor Ensembles, held November 25-28 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
Edward is a senior at Catskill High School and a student at the BOCES New Visions Program. He has performed in honors ensembles including GCMEA All-County, Zone 9 Area All-State, NYSSMA All-State, and the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. Edward also performs on the Catskill stage during his school’s musical seasons.
The All-National Honor Ensembles (ANHE) performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. The All-National Honor Ensembles consist of a jazz ensemble, mixed choir, guitar ensemble, symphony orchestra, and concert band. Students were chosen through an audition process. The jazz ensemble has 20 instrumentalists, the mixed choir 240 vocalists, the guitar ensemble 47 guitarists, the symphony orchestra 122 instrumentalists and the concert band 121 instrumentalists. Eligible students have qualified for their state-level honor ensemble program and competed against top students for a spot in these national honor ensembles.
Selected students rehearsed a challenging repertoire in preparation for performing under the baton of five of the most prominent conductors in the United States: Todd Stoll (Jazz Ensemble); Dr. Amanda Quist (Mixed Choir); Dr. Michael Quantz (Guitar Ensemble); Dr. Jean Montès (Symphony Orchestra); and Dennis Glocke (Concert Band). All conductors have received top honors in their field and spent several days rehearsing with the students before the concert.
Names, schools and states, as well as music directors, of the 550 2018 All-National Honor Ensemble students are available on the ANHE website.