Emily Wade, Greg Gust and Charlie Hamilton will represent Tyler Consolidated High School as part of the West Virginia All State Chamber Choir.

Three Tyler Consolidated High School Choir students earned top honors recently when they auditioned for the prestigious West Virginia All State Chamber Choir. The Chamber Choir is accessible by audition only and is limited to 52 total singers from West Virginia high schools.

The group is sponsored by the West Virginia Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and is the highest level choir offered in the state. This honor is comparable to a state title for an athlete. The choir is open to any student in grades 10, 11, or 12 who is enrolled in the choir program at their high school.

Emily Wade, a sophomore at Tyler Consolidated, earned the first place score in the Alto II category. “This is quite an accomplishment for a sophomore,” said choir director Clara Glover. “Most of the singers selected are juniors and seniors, therefore, a top score by a sophomore is an extra honor in itself.”

Wade is the daughter of Jamie and Kristy Wade of Middlebourne.

Greg Gust earned the fourth place Tenor II score to secure his spot in the in choir. He is a senior and the son of Rhonda Dailey of Lima and Michael Gust of Caldwell, Ohio.

Charlie Hamilton, also a senior at Tyler Consolidated, earned the fourth place Bass I spot. He is the son of Chuck Hamilton of Shirley. Both Gust and Hamilton are returning for their second year in the All-State Chamber Choir.

The All-State Chamber Choir will rehearse and perform in Charleston on Feb. 3-5. The guest conductor for the choir is Alfred R. deJaager of West Liberty University. Professor deJaager has a long, honored history of serving as a guest conductor for choral events, serving as a judge for choral events, and travelling extensively both in and out of the country in the study/performance of choral music.

The program for the West Virginia All-State Chamber Choir includes: “Clap Your Hands” (Psalm 47) by Edwin Fissinger; “Musica animam tangens” (poem by Ryan Newstrom) music by Joshua Shank; “Three Nocturnes” by Dan Forrest; “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed” (poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay) music by James Q. Mulholland, and “Roll, Jordan, Roll” arranged by Stacey V. Gibbs. The Nocturnes are three poems about stars by Sara Teasdale, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman with percussion ensemble. Professor deJaager chose a program of pieces by American composers.

The concert will be presented at the Clay Center in Charleston on Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. The program will feature the All-State Chamber Choir, the Junior High All State Choir, and the West Virginia Collegiate Honor Choir.

Tyler County has representation all three singers in the Chamber Choir, eleven total singers, in the Junior High Choir, and two alumni in the Collegiate Choir.