Four from DV are 'All Eastern'

Only five other musicians so chosen in district’s history WESTFALL — Three Delaware Valley High School Chorus students performed with the 2011 All-Eastern USA Honors Chorus in Baltimore on Sunday, April 3. Seniors Nadege Hoeper, alto; Jason Sandonato, tenor; and Jonathon Fornoff, bass, were selected as a result of auditions at the PA All-State Chorus festival in Pittsburgh. Cellist Yubin Choi, a junior in the DVHS Orchestra, was also selected this year and performed in the All-Eastern Orchestra portion of the concert. The MENC All-Eastern Honors Ensembles, consisting of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed chorus, and jazz ensemble, are organized by MENC: the national association for music educators. Each of the twelve eastern states (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, MJ, MY, RI, PA, VT) has a compiled ranked list of juniors and seniors who have been selected to their home all-state music festivals through each state’s audition process. The top-ranked students from these all-state lists are selected to the All-Eastern Honors Ensembles. Selection to this biennial event is the highest honor a high school musician can achieve. According to DVHS Chorus director, Gordon Pauling, there have only been five music students selected to all-easterns in the history of Delaware Valley High School. “We are very proud that four DV students have been selected in just one year.” Nadege Hoeper (pictured) has performed with the PA District 10 and Region V Choruses three times, and the PA All-State Chorus twice. She will play the lead role in the upcoming DV drama production of “Bye, Bye Birdie,” and will be attending Ithaca College in the fall. Jason Sandonato (pictured left) is a four-time member of the PA District 10 Chorus. He has been selected to the PA Region V Chorus and the PA All-State Chorus three times. Jason plans to be a music teacher and will major in music education at Catawba College. Jonathon Fornoff (right) plans to major in vocal music performance at Susquehanna Universtiy. His honors include four selections to the PA District 10 Chorus and three performances with the PA Region V Chorus and the PA All-State Chorus. All three students are members of the DV Concert Choir and Chamber Choir. In Baltimore, Pauling said they performed a remarkably challenging concert at the Carl Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University under the direction of noted conductor Constantina Tsolainou.