By Melissa Robinson
Contributing Editor 

  Someday, 16 year old Rachel Stokes may be up on a stage singing the Christian contemporary music she loves, but next month she will join 200 of her peers from across the United States and Canada, as well as Taiwan and South Africa to perform at the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the American High School Honor Choir, to be held on February 12.

Rachel Stokes practices scales in music class at Luella High School in preparation for her debut in the American High Honor Choir at Carnegie Hall next month. Photo by Melissa Robinson

  Stokes will spend a week in the Big Apple to rehearse and perform but will also see a Broadway show and appear on a morning television show with the other members of the choir.

  It was at the end of last year that the Luella High School sophomore was nominated by her choral director, Beth Massengale, who encouraged several of her students to send audition tapes to the selection committee.

  “This is a great honor for Rachel,” said Massengale, who will accompany Stokes on the trip. 

  She said that the American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall challenges elite students to perform at their very best. Students rehearse and perform under master conductors and have the opportunity to perform before invited representatives from collegiate and professional music programs.

  “Though much of the student’s time is focused on performance preparation, the week also allows students to experience the best of the sights and the performance arts in New York City,” said Massengale.

  Stokes said she is incredibly honored to have been chosen for the choir as one of 200 who were chosen out of more than 1,000 applicants.

  “It’s a huge honor to be able to go to Carnegie Hall,” she said. “It’s blowing my mind that I’m going up there to perform and I’m super excited.”

  The Locust Grove resident has been singing in a choir since fifth grade, but said her mother told her she actually has been singing since she was a little girl, because whenever she heard music, she would scream along with it. She said that her mom jokes that she is the one who influenced Stokes, by constantly playing Celine Dion and the Sound of Music Soundtrack when she was a baby.

  For her audition tape, Stokes recorded several songs, including Blessed Assurance and Amazing Grace, with the help of the pianist at her church, Teamon Baptist in Griffin. She sent the tape off in July and found out in October that she had made the cut.

  Her vocal range is from a high D to a low F and she is influenced by contemporary artists Amy Grant and Natalie Grant, as well as the group, Barlow Girl, as well as any vocal or a cappella music. She also loves musical theater and participates in her school’s fine arts programs and stage productions, although she has never had formal training or private lessons. However, she does play guitar and enjoys playing at church. “God gave me this voice, so I’m definitely going to use it for His purpose,” she said.

  In order to pay the close to $3,000 for the New York trip, Stokes participated in several fundraisers, selling cookie dough and Home Interiors, as well as performing with her friends to earn the money. She said that she, along with friends Deanna Thomas, Noah Kirby, Jessica Titshaw and Kacy Hill, sang at various venues throughout the holidays, to earn money.

  “My friends are amazing and I love working with them, but by the time Christmas was over, we didn’t want to see any more Christmas carols,” Stokes laughed.

  As for the future, she wants to continue singing with her friends and eventually go to college, majoring in music education or music therapy. She also doesn’t count out a career in performance if the right opportunity comes along.

“If I get the opportunity to sing professionally, I would take it and run with it, because I love singing and meeting people and singing for people and I love singing for God especially,” she said.