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May 2008

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Raleigh High School Wins Choral Award

May 1, 2008, Raleigh, N.C.: Capital Pride, the honors vocal ensemble of Leesville Road High School, Raleigh, is the winner of the Triangle Youth Chorus Trophy for 2008. The group, directed by Diane Covington, is an auditioned choir of 42 juniors and seniors.

Established in 2004, the Youth Chorus Trophy is presented each spring to a school choir in Wake, Durham, Orange or Chatham county. The purpose is to encourage and promote choral singing in the public schools, and to recognize the achievements of local youth ensembles and music educators.

The Trophy is an inventive metal sculpture, created by a North Carolina artist. It comes with a $750 cash grant for the winning director to use for the choir, its members or the school’s choral music department. This year’s winner, Capital Pride also will receive a $300 credit for purchase of music from Hinshaw Music Company, and at the Thursday morning presentation, each choir member will receive a Trophy T-shirt. Recording engineer/photographer Mark Manring donates a professional recording to the winning choir.

In addition, Capital Pride and four Triangle groups receiving honorable mention – Chapel Hill High School Chamber Choir, Durham School of the Arts Advanced Women’s Choir, Millbrook (Raleigh) High School Madrigal Singers and Northern High School (Durham) Knight Sounds – will be featured during the 8:00-9:00 a.m. portion of “Great Sacred Music” on WCPE-FM, on Sunday, May 11th. All five choirs will participate in individual master classes at their schools with distinguished area conductors later in 2008

Capital Pride studies and performs a richly varied choral repertoire of classical works and contemporary compositions; it has sung at numerous school and community events. Diane Covington founded the group when she became Leesville Road’s choral director in 1994, the school’s second year of operation; her choral department now includes three ensembles and 180 singers. Capital Pride has received consistent Superior ratings from adjudicators at local and national music festivals. Earlier this school year, the group was invited to be part of the Inaugural London International Choral Festival; in London, they presented a concert of their own and joined in a Westminster Cathedral performance of John Rutter’s Requiem, conducted by the composer.

Representatives of Jordan High School’s Jordansound, last year’s winner, presented the Trophy – a surprise for Capital Pride and Mrs. Covington – on Thursday, May 1st, at 11:30 a.m. at the school, at 8409 Leesville Road, Raleigh. Trophy Advisory Board members, sponsors, media and friends attended.

An Advisory Board of educators, conductors, reviewers, singers and choral enthusiasts evaluates written material and performances to select the winner. They focus on musical excellence and other accomplishments – such as the choir's development, and its im¬pact on members, the school and the community.

The competition is sponsored by TriangleSings!, Hinshaw Music Company, Alice and Lance Buhl Fund of Triangle Community Foundation, Lisa and Tom McIver, Walton Music Corporation, Youth Pro Musica Fund of Triangle Community Founda¬tion, Burrage Music Company, and Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse. Volunteering to conduct master classes are: Bill Carroll, Lisa Fredenburgh, Dan Huff, Sue Klausmeyer, Fran Page, Larry Speakman, Al Sturgis and Rodney Wynkoop.

Previous winners include Durham School of the Arts Chorale, led by Scott Hill; the Sandpipers of Jesse O. Sanderson High School, Raleigh, directed by Marshall Butler; Raleigh’s Chamber Choir of Enloe High School, directed by Ann Huff; Jordansound of C.E Jordan High School in Durham, conducted by Joe Lupton.

For further information, contact Carol Robbins (trianglesings@aol.com or 919/545-0343) or Diane Covington (dcovington@wcpss.net or 919/870-4297).