MISSOULA — We headed over to CS Porter Middle School for this Arts and Education report where the kids there are preparing for a very special performance.
The C.S. Porter Portaliers are one of just a few groups chosen from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Montana to perform at the Northwest Regional Conference of the American Choral Directors going on right now in Spokane.
“Many choirs and schools submit recordings of their choirs, and they select a handful to perform during the All Northwest Rgion. And this year the Portaliers were selected to sing there,” director Chris Whiteman said. “So, we are very excited to get up and sing in front of 500 choir directors who can really give us some good feedback on what is going on.”
Along with the Portaliers, the Hellgate Chevaliers were also chosen to perform at this event. The kids have been working all year for this moment, so as you can imagine, they are very excited.
“It’s a pretty big deal, cause it’s a big event and I am glad we were invited to it,” C.S. Porter eighth grade student Ava Kellenberg said. “And I think it is a big deal, because there is also all Northwest there too. So, there are really good singers there.”
Along with performing at the conference, the Portaliers were also chosen for something a little extra special.
“We are world premiering a piece that will be written specifically for us to premier at All Northwest in the Fox Theater,” Whiteman said. “So we are really excited, his name is Jim Papoulis and he is a really awesome composer, so we are very excited to debut that at all northwest.”
The Northwest Regional Conference of the American Choral Directors runs through March 14 in Spokane.
