Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - From March 2-6, 2022, over 500 students from 184 cities representing 35 US states and one international school as members of the 49th Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Conference Choirs. Renaissance Academy was proudly represented this year by 10th grader, Padraic Carr, 10th grader, Maribelle Buli, 8th grader, Allison Walsh, and 6th grader, Samantha Roulstone.
Maribelle Buli, Padraic Carr, Allison Walsh, and Samantha Roulstone, along with the other singer participants, rehearsed with nationally and internationally-recognized conductors Ruth Dwyer, Mary Ellen Junda, Jeffery Ames, and Rollo Dilworth. Experience for these elite honor choirs culminated in a concert Saturday evening at the David L Lawrence Convention Center.
The OAKE National Conference is an annual event which occurs in a different city each year, bringing together music educators and clinicians over the course of four days. The Conference culminates in the performance of singers selected to participate in the OAKE National Honor Choirs. Selected through an intense audition process, these young singers performed pieces by Tracey Wong, Franz Schubert, Zoltán Kodály, and many other master composers.
OAKE is a national leader in the field of music education and teacher training whose mission is “to support music education of the highest quality, promote universal music literacy and lifelong music making, and preserve the musical heritage of the people of the United States of America through education, artistic performance, advocacy and research.”