Eleven members of the Rockhurst High School choral program were announced as members of the Kansas City Metro All-District Choir on Sept. 29, a new high water mark for the program under the direction of Kevin Coker, Ph.D.
Seniors Atticus Carlson, Will Fanning, Rory Lewellen, and Henry Scheiderer, juniors Tristan Batobalani, Vinny Gronberg, and Sam Robinson, as well as sophomores Valerian Huston, Robert Milligan, Charlie Tietjen, and Ronan Ursick were all awarded the honor by the Missouri Music Educators Association following auditions on Sept. 27 at North Kansas City High School.
Lewellen and Scheiderer were additionally recognized as members of the SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, base) choir, meaning they are eligible to audition for the Missouri All-State Choir.
Coker noted the KC metro district as “one of…if not the most competitive district in the entire state of Missouri.”
“This is a great honor for each of the singers who went through the process, prepared, and went and auditioned,” Coker said.
Auditions consist of a 90-second solo performance, in addition to a section that tests singers’ ability to sight-read and sight-sing sheet music.
“Coker gave everyone access to practices for the sight-singing from previous years,” Scheiderer said. “I think that helped a lot.”
Preparations for auditions had to be balanced with rehearsals for Rockhurst choir concerts. Coker dedicated more class time to the performances he conducts, such as the fall concert hosted in the Rose Theatre on Oct. 9, but also carved out a section of class to work with those auditioning.
“It got everyone to get their nerves down and understand what they’re expecting going into it,” Scheiderer said.
Several singers, including Scheiderer, also take voice lessons outside of Rockhurst to improve their vocal technique.
Coker was particularly impressed with the even spread in the ages of selected Hawklets: four seniors, three juniors and four sophomores. Four freshmen–Lucca Abreu, Kipton Clifft, Rocco Mandecina, and Mayson McCarthy–were also recognized as part of a freshman-sophomore honor group.
“Sixteen guys from all four different grades represented–that’s really impressive,” Coker said. “Voice is attached to our physical development, and these guys are achieving at a really high level at a younger age. It just projects the strength of what’s going to come.”
Scheiderer and Lewellen are now preparing for their all-state auditions on Oct. 20, back at North Kansas City High School.
“They gave us our music that we needed to prepare just a couple days ago…so we have 20 days to learn an entire new song, which is a little stressful,” Scheiderer said.
If successful, Lewellen and Scheiderer will be able to perform with the all-state group in the winter and spring of 2026.
“I think it’d be really cool to experience the best music in our state,” Scheiderer said.
The overall strength of the choral program will once again be on display when the group presents its annual Christmas concert at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in December. Look for more information about that as the date gets closer.
