EDUCATION
Five Gray Elementary School students performed in the Georgia Statewide Elementary Honor Chorus at the Clayton County Schools Performing Arts Center, where they rehearsed for two days to sing in a concert.
Monica Tritto, music teacher at Gray Elementary School, said she is very proud of her student’s recent accomplishment with the concert. She said the five girls, Aubrei Blake, Darci Bray, Mallory Medeiros, Anaya Patel, and Karsin Warren, all worked very hard.
“The Statewide Elementary Honor Chorus happens every year, and we are allowed to send five students from our choral program to this event,” she said. “It takes place over two days, so the students have to prepare music ahead of time. It’s about eight hours of practice, and it’s very intense. It’s a lot of work, but the kids are so proud of themselves when it’s over.”
She said music is important to study, because music is making students greater people. She said she appreciates that the Jones County school system is supportive of music education. She said the students learn life lessons through music.
“Being a part of the chorus means teamwork, and working together is an important process. We have a lot of students who share different interests outside of chorus and are very different from one another, but this is something they can share,” Tritto said.
Aubrei Blake, a fifth-grade student who attended the honor chorus, said the songs they sang during honors chorus was different from what they get to sing at Gray Elementary School. She said the chorus has made her venture out of her comfort zone and do things she’s never done before.
“We prepared by practicing in the afternoons, and honor chorus was really fun. I liked the directors and singing the songs,” she said. “I joined the chorus here at Gray Elementary, because I really like to sing and practice the music. We had to sing in a different language, and that was scary at first, but I liked it after we practiced it.”
The music teacher said she enjoys teaching music at Gray Elementary School, because she gets to teach students from kindergarten to fifth grade. She said she gets to watch them grow up and make lasting connections with the students.
“Being a part of the honor chorus was going a step beyond what we do here at Gray Elementary, and I’m glad these ladies got to be a part of that excellence. They get to see a little bit of what a professional chorus is like through the honor chorus. They really get to challenge themselves,” she said.
Karsin Warren, another student at Gray Elementary School who attended the honor chorus, said she joined chorus, because she liked singing, but not by herself. She said her friends wanted her to join, because they told her she was a good singer. She said chorus has given her confidence.
“Singing in chorus is important, because it helps you to be able to sing in front of people and not be afraid,” the student said. “I enjoy chorus, because I get to sing and be around my friends. I was really nervous about singing in another language during honor chorus, but it ended up being one of the best songs we sang.”
