Germantown Choir wins grand prize
GLUCKSTADT — Germantown High School’s Legacy Choir swept the inaugural Athena Festival in Nashville earlier this month bringing home several accolades including the overall grand prize.
“Winning the Athena award was an indescribable feeling,” says Legacy singer Neely Ray, a junior. “To know everything you have worked so hard for was achieved. There’s not a better feeling!”
In addition to the grand Athena Prize, the singers of Legacy also won best studio recording session, and Legacy Choir Director Jordan Langworthy was awarded Outstanding Conductor.
“I am so proud of Legacy, their talent, dedication, and spirit have brought us to this incredible moment. Together, we’ve created something truly special, and I am honored to have led such a remarkable group to victory," Langworthy said. "I am also grateful for The Athena Festival granting us the opportunity to share our music on such a magnificent stage. In the company of amazing directors and incredibly talented students, it was an honor to be recognized with the Athena Award."
She went on to say that her position at GHS is a dream job, "Most of all I am thankful for my students, awesome choir parents, amazing Germantown High School colleagues, the Madison County School District, and the Madison/Gluckstadt community for their continual and cherished support. There is nothing else in the world I would rather be doing and nowhere else I would rather be doing it.”
Madison County Schools Superintendent Charlotte Seals said she is proud to see district students succeed in a national competition.
“We are so proud of the hard work everyone involved with Legacy contributes to creating such an excellent choral program,” Seals said. “The arts are such an important part of school life, along with academics and athletics, and it is wonderful to see our students developing a passion for activities they truly love and succeeding at such a high level in the process.”
The invitational competition was held the weekend of March 3. It showcases high school a cappella choral ensembles through live performances, studio recordings, and songwriting. The festival concluded with performances at the Parthenon where Legacy competed against choral ensembles from across the United States. Langworthy said three schools were represented including GHS and two performing arts charter schools one of which was from North Carolina and the other from Missouri.
The Athena Festival win provides a stage for the roughly 20 Legacy singers to showcase their talents well beyond the competition, Langworthy said.
Langworthy is glad this event will highlight “these awesome students.”
“They are some of the most talented, intelligent, and well-rounded individuals,” Langworthy said.
Legacy’s winning studio session, recorded at Ocean Way Studios, will be featured on Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud in the fall.
Legacy singer Gabby Caraway, a senior, said she enjoyed competing against skilled competition from across the country.
“The Athena Festival was a wonderful experience that we will not be forgetting anytime soon. It allowed us to grow as musicians and perform in amazing environments, and having the honor of winning means a lot to us knowing how skilled the other choirs are as well,” Caraway said.
Harold Palmer, whose daughter Alexis sings with Legacy and is a freshman at GHS said the competition was an opportunity for students to see what a career in music could look like.
“The Athena Festival win means due recognition for all the talent, skill, dedication, time, and effort put in to make Legacy sound as amazing as they do,” says Palmer, “Secondly, I believe the win opens the students’ eyes to an entire world of possibilities related to…music career options.”
James Dickson, Advanced Placement English teacher at GHS said Langworthy’s colleagues at the high school are proud of her accolades and those of the choir she leads, but not at all surprised.
“This award confirms what everyone at Germantown High already knows: that the arts are important, that our students are committed to creating beauty in all forms, and that Jordan Langworthy uses her expertise and love to foster an environment in which excellence is the only possible result,” Dickson said.
Legacy is the auditioned contemporary a cappella ensemble that performs music from all genres and musical periods and is one of four performing ensembles that students can be a part of at GHS.