Please join us for the York County Honors Choirs Season Finale Concert, celebrating our 2019-20 season of performances and music education.

It is our great privilege to honor and celebrate Senior Honors Choir Directors Randy Yoder and Michal Buchanan, who will be retiring from the choir in June. Randy and Michal have been exceptional leaders in shaping this unique choral opportunity for students in York County for the past 22 years, and we are grateful that they will assist with future alumni choirs and trips. The organization and choir members, past and present, thank Randy and Michal for the many performance and educational opportunities they have provided for local youth in York County. We welcome Mr. Carlos Casilla as the new Artistic Director of Senior Honors Choir for the 2020-2021 season and look forward to introducing him to our community.

The Junior and Senior Honors Choir will be traveling to New York City in late June to perform on the Carnegie Hall stage as featured performers during the Choirs of America Nationals for Top Choirs. This is a first for the choirs and an exciting honor. Many of the songs that you hear tonight will also be performed in Carnegie Hall.

Also tonight, we introduce the first Children’s Honors Choir. Singers in grades 5 and 6, chosen from the annual York County Elementary Choral Festival participants, will have the opportunity to perform on the Strand Theatre stage. We’re delighted to invite a younger choir of talented singers to our concert and look forward to their performance.

You will be amazed at the professional quality of tonight’s performance. We thank our singers and directors for their dedication to the excellence of York County Honors Choirs. Enjoy the show!

Randy Yoder, Senior Honors Choir Director

Michal Buchanan, Senior Honors Choir Assistant Director

Donna Knott, Junior Honors Choir Director

Susan Feldmann, Junior Honors Choir Associate Director

York County Honors Choirs is comprised of two auditioned ensembles: York County Senior Honors Choir (grades 10-12), founded in 1998 to participate in York County’s 250th Anniversary Celebration and York County Junior Honors Choir (grades 7-9), developed in 2002 to provide training and opportunities for younger singers. The choirs, together with two smaller performance ensembles (Concorde and Synergy) serve as choral ambassadors of York County, presenting over 20 concerts annually. The choirs are administered by a 501c3 non-profit organization which has fostered unique relationships with school districts, private music instructors, and homeschoolers to represent all of York County.

In 22 years, 1300 students have represented YCHC, performing in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Waldorf-Astoria, United Nations, Carnegie Hall, St. John the Divine, Washington National Cathedral, Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Providence, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at Orioles baseball games, in Heinz Chapel, the Naval Academy Chapel, Penn State University, Washington DC, Hershey, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, and in the great cathedrals of England and France.

For further information about the choirs, please visit our website www.theYCHC.org.