Poplar Bluff, MO -  Four Poplar Bluff High School choral students have been selected for the All-State Choir, one of whom has further qualified to compete statewide in the Sight-Singing Bee.

Bralin Duckett, a tenor, and soprano Emma Harris will perform with the choir in January during the Missouri Music Educators Association conference at Osage Beach, while Christian Redding, a tenor, and alto Emma Tinsley will serve as alternates.

In addition, Emma Harris achieved one of the highest sight-singing scores in the state, allowing her to vie in the Missouri Choral Directors Association-sponsored Sight-Singing Bee at the same event. 

Out of nine PBHS juniors and seniors who tried out for All-State, nearly half advanced during the All-District Choir rehearsal in November in Cape Girardeau. Emma Harris went on to display her “high level of musicianship” and “well-developed ear” in a subsequent sight-singing audition, according to Joshua Allen, director of vocal music.

"Sight-singing is reading and singing a musical passage at first sight," Allen explained. "Students have 20 seconds to prepare from the time they first see the piece."

Pictured: PBHS Choir students (left to right) Bralin Duckett, Emma Harris, Emma Tinsley and Christian Redding were selected for the All-State Choir during a recent audition at Cape Central High School.

Article and photo by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District