BVA senior chosen for prestigious choir event
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
In 30 years of teaching, Belle Vernon Area vocal music teacher Michael Rozell has had only three students qualify for the All-Eastern Choir Festival.
Emma Bellissimo is the most recent student to earn that honor.
Emma is a senior at Belle Vernon Area High School and the daughter of Drs. Suzanne and Brian Bellissimo of Belle Vernon. Emma qualified last year for the All-State Choir Festival, but the event was canceled due to the coronavirus.
Rozell said the usual process is for the students who qualify at the district, regional and state levels to audition for the next level at the start of each festival. The festival season starts before Thanksgiving, with 500 to 600 students auditioning for the 140 to 150 spots in the district choir.
“They are given a folder of music and a month or so to learn it, then they go to the district festival. The first thing they do there is audition for the regional choir,” Rozell said. “With each festival, they take fewer students. You have to be in the top six in each region to make All-State.”
The All-Eastern competition, which involves students from 13 states, is held every two years.
Emma qualified for this year’s festival by sending in a recorded audition after qualifying for the All-State Choir last year. The festival is still impacted by COVID-19 and will only be held virtually.
Emma was just notified a few weeks ago that she qualified for the All-East Festival and is awaiting her packet of music to learn. Rozell said it will be up to Emma to learn the music on her own, then he will help her polish her final performance before the recording is sent in for the festival.
“I like to challenge myself,” Emma said. “It’s a physical challenge. You have to control your breathing. I like to see how high I can go and how low I can go.”
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