Story by Ainsley Hall
INWOOD — Mountain Ridge Middle School and Musselman High School sent a group of students to participate in the West Virginia All-State Choir.
During the 2024 West Virginia American Choral Director All-State Choir Conference, which took place on Feb. 1-3 in Morgantown, students all over the state had the chance to improve their skills and perform at a high level with other talented students. The conference included two days of rehearsals with guest conductors, before each of the honor choirs performed on the last day.
Mountain Ridge Middle School had a total of seven students who participated in the All-State Junior High/Middle School Choir. They included Seth Floyd, Makayla Grove, Taylor Hill, Navarah Mattingly-Piper, Brady Ruppenthal, Brieanna Wright and Kirsten Right.
Jessica Ruqus, Mountain Ridge Middle School choir director, was happy to see her students work hard and succeed after many months of practice.
“This is an important opportunity, because it’s a chance to travel somewhere they’ve never been before,” Ruqus said. “They get to sing more challenging music and highlight their hard work during their normal program.”
Three students from Musselman High School — Elijah Feaster, Adrian Floyd and Sydney Floyd — joined the All-State High School Chamber Choir. Each of these students worked hard to learn their music and auditioned months ago to improve their skills. They worked alongside many other students across the state who are dedicated to music and talented conductors who push them to do their best.
Musselman High School’s choir director, James Miller, shared that it’s a huge honor to join the choir, and it was great to see his students succeed.
“This year, we had three students audition, and all three of them passed,” Miller said. “It’s rare that all your people make it. It’s been great to see them come back and share different warmups they learned and other ideas that the rest of the choir can use.”
Participating in the all-state choir was a huge honor for these talented students. They had the opportunity not just to learn more difficult music but have fun and embrace their love of music.
Ruqus wanted to thank everyone who helped support all the students as they made the trip.
“I want to thank the parents of our students and all our supporters that allow us to do stuff like this,” Ruqus said. “Without them, this wouldn’t be possible.”