Missouri All-State Choir
Cade Shafer, a senior, was the first student from Lawson High School in ten years to be a part of the Missouri All-State Choir. To help you understand the significance of this event, this is equivalent to the State Championship of football in the choir world. There are 11 districts in Missouri, and only 192 students are selected to be a part of this ensemble each year. Nine districts contribute 16 total members, and two districts contribute 24 total members. Cade was chosen as one of only 4 tenors from the Northwest district. Our district extends as far south as Richmond, east to Chillicothe, and north to the Iowa border.
Those students selected for this prestigious group are required to participate in eight hours of supervised rehearsal prior to traveling to the Missouri Music Educators Association annual conference, where they rehearse for more than
18 hours over the course of four days before performing their concert for a packed house of parents, teachers, administrators, and musicians from around the world.
This was the 50th Missouri All-State Choir, and for this occasion, MMEA brought in the world-renowned Maria Guinand of Venezuela. She brought the students on a musical journey and pushed them to be their absolute best. By the end of the week, the students were fondly referring to her as their abuela. She was so sweet and kind but not afraid to tell them what they were doing wrong, just like a grandma. The choir's performance on Saturday, January 28, was absolutely amazing. The literature was challenging technically as well as musically. They arrived with six pieces prepared and learned another on-site.
Congratulations to Cade Shafer on achieving this GREAT honor and putting on such a remarkable performance! Lawson was very well represented and should be so proud of his accomplishment!