West Orange High School Choir

REcent News

Welcome Back!
WOHS Choir would like to welcome new and returning members to the 2017-2018 school year! Please utilize the MEMBERS page to stay updated throughout the school year, as well as enroll in your choir's Remind. Also, follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages for media posts throughout the year!

New choir offering for 2017-2018
West Orange choir department is excited to offer a new choir which will start rehearsals in February 2018: Festival Mixed Choir! This select choir will compete at Festival Disney in May 2018. More details can be found on our CHOIRS page!

Festival Disney Competition
Congratulations to Festival Women's Choir (Bronze) and Male Chorus (Gold) for their awards at Festival Disney!

Superiors at State MPA
Women's Chorale, Male Chorus, Concert Choir and Bel Canto all earned Superior ratings at this year's State Music Performance Assessments. Bel Canto earned Superior with Distinction. Congratulations, choirs!

Noise Complaint at National A Cappella Convention
Noise Complaint delivered a passionate and electrifying performance as they were showcased in Memphis at this year's National A Cappella Convention!

Concert Choir at Carnegie Hall
Concert Choir received raved reviews for their solo performance at Carnegie Hall during DCINY's "I Hear America Singing" concert! Catch the review posted by New York Concert Review Inc.

Bel Canto at ACDA National Convention
Bel Canto delivered two outstanding performance at this year's National Convention for the American Choral Directors Association in Minneapolis! Congratulations and bravo, Bel Canto!

Superiors at District MPA
Every choir received Superior ratings at this year's District MPA Festival, and will be proceeding to State MPA in April!

Dr. Redding is announced as 2018 GRAMMY Quarterfinalist

We are extremely excited to announce that for the 2nd year in a row, our very own Dr. Redding has been selected as a Quarterfinalist for the 2018 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. This award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education, and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in schools.
Without a doubt, Dr. Redding is deserved of such recognition, as he has touched and changed the lives of many, many students he has taught not only at West Orange, but across the United States. His influence and guidance knows no boundaries, affecting students and adults alike, yet his humility and modesty far-surpasses the breadth of his inspirational reach. He teaches, guides, cares for, serves, and dedicates so much of himself to everyone. In spite of the battles with school politics, parental intrusiveness, and just life in general, Dr. Redding serves relentlessly, and never expects anything in return. Dr. Redding is absolutely adamant about investing in his students and colleagues and creating a healthy, nurturing, and united environment so that all can grow. Jeff is an incredible educator and he does not celebrate himself nearly as enough, because he would much rather keep serving. He is that humble and that dedicated. He claps for many people, and we are honored to clap for him.
The WOHS Choral department feels so privileged to have Dr. Redding as our Director of Choral Activities, honors Dr. Redding's work and commitment to our program and to his students, and excitedly applauds and celebrates his deserved recognition as a GRAMMY Quarterfinalist! Bravo and congratulations, Dr. Redding!

Bel Canto at 2016 Southern Division ACDA conference

Sweepin’ Through the City (I Won’t Be Back)
by James Hemdon/arr. M. Roger Holland II
LaRue Howard, soloist

WOHS Choir is a proud seller of Mixed Bag Designs! You can place an order online by clicking here, and your order will support the WOHS Choir program. You can also enter the name of a participant that referred you in the "Referred By" field for them to receive credit.
Thank you for your support!

Music is Key to Success
Presented by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)

More Graduates
Schools that have music programs have higher graduation rates than those without programs (90.2% as compared to 72.9%).
(Harris Interactive survey of high school principals, Spring 2006)

Better Skills
Arts-based learning is known to promote collaboration, creative problem solving, and the ability to apply learning across different disciplines.
(Neuroeducation: Learning, Arts, and the Brain. Dana Press, 2009)

Higher Scores
Students with 4 years or more of arts and music study scored 29 points higher on reading, 22 points higher on math and 29 points higher on writing sections of the SAT College Board test.
(College Board SAT, 2008 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report)