By Julia Duggan
Correspondent
The lights turned on, the stage was set and high school students were dropped off by their parents for the return of the Honors Festival at the College. Every year, high school students are invited to audition for the Honors Festival where they will study under College faculty and perform a concert in a short period of time. This year, the students had two rehearsals and a concert all on Sunday, Nov. 21. The rehearsals happened at both the Music Building and at Kendall Hall while the concert happened at Kendall at 5 p.m.
“After running an entirely virtual festival in 2020, we were delighted to welcome back high school students to TCNJ’s campus for the 2021 Honors Festival,” said Dr. Eric Laprade, the Director of Bands and one of the coordinators of the event.
According to Laprade, there were high school students from 30 different communities in New Jersey at this event. This year, the students were divided into two ensembles: a band and a choir. To help make the event successful, College students volunteered behind the scenes.
“Our TCNJ students make the Honors Festival happen,” Laprade said. “Every year, we have a large group of TCNJ students who work behind the scenes to make the Festival run smoothly. They act as ambassadors to the College, help set-up for the day, work with the high school students, have lunch with the high school students, and more.”
The College students were excited to be volunteering.
Mikayla Delano, a sophomore music performance major, said she was most looking forward to “meeting the aspiring high school students.”
The high school students had two rehearsals with the band and choir faculty, a masterclass that was specific to every voice and instrument, lunch with college students and finished the day with a concert in Kendall Hall.
The first half of the concert featured the choir while the second half of the concert featured the band.
“A large majority of our TCNJ music students are music education majors — this is a wonderful opportunity for them to work with high school aged students,” Laprade said.
Since this is the first Honors Festival back in person, the music department made sure to prioritize protecting everyone who participated in the Honors Festival against Covid-19. All high school students were required to be fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative test. All high school students, college students, and faculty were required to wear masks and bell covers for the entire day, including on stage.
“I love the opportunity to bring high school students to campus for a day of music making,” Laprade said. “Also, I am always so proud of and impressed by our TCNJ students and how they are such wonderful hosts to the high school students and contributors for the day.
