In her first year at Seymour High School, Carly Kaiser was one of five students chosen for the Indiana All-State Honor Choir.

The Indiana Music Education Association hosts the choir at its Professional Development Conference in January. The ensemble, presented by the Indiana Choral Directors Association, meets to rehearse and perform in Fort Wayne before and during the conference.

This school year, as a junior, Kaiser has made the choir again, so she will travel to northeast Indiana to be a part of the conference Jan. 13 to 15 at Grand Wayne Convention Center.

“I think it will be a little different since I’m the only person from Seymour going up, but I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to meet new people and just to get to know everyone better,” she said.

Then in February, she will have a new opportunity: Performing with the American Choral Directors Association’s Midwest Honor Choir.

That also is tied to a conference, which is Feb. 16 to 19 in Chicago, Illinois. The choir will consist of students from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“I’m looking forward to the experience and for maybe to get a little bit of notice from many college and many other opportunities because I know at the Indiana All-State Honor Choir, there are a bunch of Indiana colleges, but maybe I can look in other states for colleges and opportunities,” Kaiser said.

For both choirs, Kaiser had to go through an audition process.

Indiana All-State Honor Choir auditions are conducted throughout the state. Kaiser went to the one Sept. 30 at Franklin County High School.

That consisted of singing a song and doing sight reading, which involves reading and performing a piece of music or a song in music notation that the performer has not seen before. The students were assessed on their skill set and given a score. The highest-scoring sopranos, altos, tenors and bass were chosen for the choir.

Kaiser said she was a little nervous because only 200 Indiana students would be chosen, compared to 250 two years ago, but she felt confident in her performance and was happy to learn the next day she made the choir.

“I was first of all shocked because I was just overjoyed that I could experience it again, and it was super exciting because I always look forward to auditioning for this choir,” she said. “It’s just a great opportunity. I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to experience it.”

She already has received the songs the choir will be performing, so she’s practicing those. All of the choir members will come together for a rehearsal the day before the show in Fort Wayne.

Kyle Karum, director of choral music at SHS, said when Amanda Massengale was chosen for the choir in the 2018-19 school year, she was the first Seymour student to do so in five years.

Then she, Kaiser, Anna Massengale, Levi Croquart and Liza Stuckwisch were selected in 2019-20, but there wasn’t a live event last school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He’s glad to see it return this year and for Kaiser to experience it again.

“I hope she takes away the many benefits from being in any ensemble, but especially one of this caliber,” Karum said. “Adaptability, a high standard of achievement, teamwork and innovation are just a few of the 21st century skills ensemble music-making has to offer.”

A week after auditioning for the state choir, Kaiser said Karum asked if she also wanted to audition for the Midwest choir.

She submitted an audio recording of her singing two songs — one in a foreign language (she chose German) and one in English — to show off her vocal range.

Nearly two weeks later, she received an email letting her know she was chosen.

“It was very nerve-racking because you were just waiting for the email,” she said. “When I first received the email, the first thing I did is got up out of my chair in class and asked (one of her teachers) if I could go talk to my mom, and then I talked to Mr. Karum and Karla (Shutters) and let them know I got accepted.”

Since Karum started at SHS in 2015, the only other student to make the choir was Macie Fletcher in 2018.

“It is incredibly competitive,” Karum said. “This is a huge honor, and (Kaiser) had worked so hard for it.”

The conference joins together the Midwest and Northern regional conferences.

“In addition to the 21st century skills mentioned earlier, I hope (Kaiser) gains some great rehearsal and performance skills that could only be had at events like this one,” Karum said. “These performances are always top-notch and extraordinary. She’s going to have a blast. Ensemble music-making is one of the finest and best avenues in which to collaborate and succeed. Every student-musician I have met who attended one of these was transformed.”

Next year, Karum said he plans to have student-musicians audition for the 2023 ACDA National Honor Choir that will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio.