Celebrating the success of students is one of Stillwater Central School District’s core values. A new editorial series titled “Stillwater Arts in Action” was created by the Stillwater Arts Department to highlight an outstanding student in the field each month. For October, the department is featuring senior chorus member Amelia Miller!
As Amelia wraps up her time at Stillwater High School, she is preparing for her future after graduation. She plans on going to college for music education and has “been doing an outstanding job preparing for this role,” according to Kara Pitkin, a choral and general music instructor for Stillwater Middle School and Stillwater High School. She has various singing and performing opportunities from October through December.
Most recently, Amelia was accepted into the 10-12 grade All County Chorus, which performed on Oct. 28 at Queensbury High School. This honor required recommendation and NYSSMA solo participation to be accepted, and this year proved to be exceptionally competitive. The All County Chorus Festival featured students from Saratoga and Warren counties; school districts sent recommendations for students they thought should attend. A separate panel of teachers from the area then selected students based on those recommendations.
While Amelia prepared for All County, she auditioned for a part in the Melodies of Christmas Chorus, which is featured on CBS Channel 6. She was accepted into the ensemble and is currently rehearsing one night per week to prepare for the four performances scheduled to take place on Dec. 15-18 at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. One show will air on CBS Channel 6.
“High school vocalists from schools across the region and ESYO’s flagship Symphony Orchestra are the heart of the benefit performance, which has raised over $8 million for the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders at Albany Med,” according to Empire State Youth Orchestra’s website.
In addition to preparing for All County, Melodies of Christmas, and her college auditions, Amelia was also just accepted to the Area All State Chorus. This prestigious accomplishment was based off of Amelia’s NYSSMA vocal solo score from her junior year. This ensemble is made up of students from the neighboring counties of Hamilton, Warren, Washington, Rensselaer, Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Fulton, Montgomery and requires a level six All State solo from the majority of participants. The performance is scheduled for Nov. 18 at Proctors Theater in Schenectady.
Congratulations Amelia and keep up the amazing work!