17 Decorah students perform at Opus Honor Choir Concert

(First row, left to right): Finn Deen-Lester, Lily Smith, Noah Lovelace and Lillian Grouws. (Second row, left to right): Cameron DeLong, Katherine Bruening, Annette Leschensky and Nathan Larson. (Third row, left to right): Dean Beckman, Garrett Sorenson, Madelyn Jermier, Carina Yee and Audrey Casterton. (Fourth row, left to right): Jason Rausch, Avery Dugger and Carston Krieg, (Not pictured): Kaj Spencer Berg, Everett Wegge, and Indigo Fish.

17 Decorah students recently participated in the 28th annual Opus Honor Choir Festival on the Iowa State University campus in Ames.

Music directors nominated over 3,300 students for 720 positions in the four Opus Honor Choirs.  Selections were made by means of a recorded audition.  Since first sending students to Opus Honor Choirs in 2006, more than 150 students from Decorah have been accepted through recordings submitted by Dean Beckman and Jason Rausch.  

This year, 14 students were selected from Decorah Middle School by recordings submitted by Dean Beckman.  At the Decorah High School, two students and one alternate were selected from recordings submitted by Jason Rausch.

5th grader Noah Lovelace was selected for the honor choir; as were 6th graders Katherine Bruening, Audrey Casterton, Finn Deen-Lester, Lillian Grouws, Annette Leschensky, Lily Smith and Kaj Spencer-Berg.  7th grader Cameron DeLong was selected, as were 8th graders Avery Dugger, Carston Krieg, Nathan Larson, Garrett Sorenson and Carina Yee.  9th graders selected were Madelyn Jermier and Everett Wegge, with Indigo Fish named as an alternate.

Also this year, Decorah Middle School choir director Dean Beckman was selected as director of the bass clef chorus.