Local high school student to sing at Grand Ole Opry

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Jack Whitney, a sophomore at The John Cooper School, has been named to the 2014 All-National Honor Ensemble sponsored by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

Whitney will join 670 of the most musically talented and skilled high school students in the country for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of performing in the mixed chorus ensemble on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 29 in conjunction with the NAfME National In-Service Conference. The ensemble he will sing in will be comprised of approximately 350 vocalists. A NAfME all-national concert band, symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble will also perform.

These students were named "best of the best" out of approximately 2.5 million students nationwide that competed in local, district and state music competitions. Whitney, who has been singing in the Cooper choir since the eighth grade, is a tenor and qualified to audition by being named to the TPSMEA All-State Choir as a freshman. He submitted a video audition of the Italian song, "Amarilli" to gain the prestigious honor.

"We are very proud and pleased for Jack that he has been selected for this tremendous opportunity," said Middle Upper School Choir Director Rae Moses. "Jack is one of the youngest students to be selected for this honor and will be the only mixed chorus ensemble member from Texas." Moses will also attend the NAfME National In-Service Conference in Nashville.

Whitney will rehearse a repertoire of challenging music and will perform under the direction of Edith Copley, Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University, who is one of the most prominent conductors in the United States.

Whitney will attend workshops and rehearsals in Nashville for three days leading up to the concert and will travel to Nashville with his parents, Mark and Mary Ann Whitney of The Woodlands. "I am really looking forward to this opportunity to learn and sing with other student musicians from around the country on the Grand Old Opry stage!" Whitney said.