By Jacob Mayforth
This past weekend from the 17th to the 19th of November, Homer High sent more kids than any other school in the district to All-state Honor Choir for the tenth year in a row. Twenty-six choir students traveled to West High to perform, two of those students, Kirsten Swanson and Mariah Stewart, achieved first chair soprano and alto respectively.
With 27 years as a choir director and countless years studying music, Marc Robinson has proved time and time again his ability to carry his concert choir of 93 through several countries in Europe and 21 years worth of musicals. Amy Christianson believes “The consistency is what carries the choir. The same teacher has been teaching for almost three decades and I have been teaching for three years, that’s why the band isn’t as developed as the choir, and every year at the same time Robs makes audition tapes for borough and all-state. ”
“It’s less about consistency and more about the openness,” said Owen Duffy, “Robs always keeps his teaching style open and really tries to learn how to improve it, so each year the program gets better. It also has a lot to do with the community. Homer has always been artistic, and most everyone I know plays some kind of instrument. When kids walk into the classroom they have a pretty strong understanding of music.”
To see what all-state is like, videos of last year’s honor choir can be found on YouTube, search Alaska Allstate Honor Choir to see the concert.