Practice, commitment propel Huron High School's Huron Choirs to international recognition

A Cappella at the Grosse Aula Concert at Salzburg University on Friday, March 19.

Photo courtesy Bonnie Kidd

Bel Canto at the Grosse Aula Concert at Salzburg University on Friday, March 19.

Photo courtesy Bonnie Kidd

The Huron Choirs, a group of about 130 students separated into five different choirs, do much more than perform a few concerts each year in Huron High School’s auditorium.

In fact, the choir consistently wins top scores at district and state level events, has been a featured group at international choir festivals in places like Italy and Germany and has held entire concerts in foreign languages.

The choir just wrapped up another successful year when they held their end of the year banquet where they celebrated these accomplishments and said goodbye to 41 seniors on May 26.

Along with the choir’s many achievements, the entire Huron High School music department has been recognized as a Grammy Signature School by the Grammy Foundation five times since 2000. According to the Grammy Foundation website, the award recognizes public high schools in the U.S. with an outstanding commitment to music education.

Co-choral directors Bonnie Kidd and Richard Ingram pride their choirs on just that: commitment.

Years of Success

The achievements of the Huron Choirs over the years include

Grammy Signature Awards in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006
Grammy Signature Gold Award in 2003 as one of the top 7 high school music departments in the country
A Cappella Choir performances at state music conferences in 2004, 2005, 2008
Bel Canto Choir performances at state music conferences in 1994, 2010
Five European tours in the past 20 years
Gold ratings for A Cappella and Bel Canto Choirs as the best choir in their categories at the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Corale in Verona, Italy in 2006

The students in the choirs practice every day during school for a 55-minute class that fulfills their performing arts requirement. Ingram describes the students as “extremely dedicated” because many students opt for the choir elective all four years of their high school career.

Huron junior and member of the A Cappella choir Alexandria Strother said the choir takes up a lot of time during and after school but she doesn’t mind the commitment.

“Choir is definitely worth it,” Strother said. “I love music with all of my heart and singing is my true passion.”

Kidd said those frequent choral rehearsals contribute to the success of the choir, and have helped them receive multiple invitations to perform internationally.

One of the invitations came this year when the A Cappella and Bel Canto sections of the choir were asked to perform in Salzburg, Austria, at the festival “Cantus Salisburgensis.”

During the trip in March 2010, the students got to spend five nights in Europe, visit Mozart’s childhood home and sing with a German choir. Ingram described the trip as a “life changing experience” for many of the students, including some who had never even been on airplane before.

But for Kidd and Ingram, the genuine closeness of the group is more important than the awards, the performances, and the trips.

“It’s really a bonding experience,” Kidd said. “You’re going to make friends that you keep forever—maybe even marry.”

And actually, marriage between two choir students may not be such an outrageous idea. Kidd and Ingram attended a wedding two years ago of former students that graduated from Huron and were involved in the choir.

Ingram said it’s moments like those, getting to share life experiences and “think about what it means to be human,” that are his favorite aspects of teaching music.

“I feel lucky to have a job that I’m passionate about and that’s why, after 35 years, I don’t want to quit yet,” Ingram said.

Click to listen to the Huron Choirs sing Ave Maria

Lizzy Alfs is a senior at the University of Michigan majoring in English. She is also a news reporter for the Michigan Daily. Email her with events and news relating to Ann Arbor’s North Side.