Congratulations to Senior Riley Grainger, who participated in the National Association for Music Education’s  (NAfME) virtual All- National Mixed Choir, held Jan. 22 to 24.

Riley was one of only 240 students selected for this national honor, which includes a mixed choir, concert band, modern band, symphony orchestra,  and guitar and jazz ensembles. The Mixed Choir was conducted  by Geoffrey Boers, director of choral activities and the Ruth Waters professor of music at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he leads a program widely recognized as innovative, vibrant and forward thinking.

At Minisink Valley, Riley is a member of the Mixed Choir, Women’s Choir and Chamber Choir and is an active participant in multiple instrumental ensembles including band and jazz band. She’s  enrolled in the AP Music Theory course.

“Riley is an incredibly talented musician, with a passion for music that is visible to all,” said Minisink Valley choir conductor Danielle Cornacchio. “She is planning to attend college to study music education, with a concentration in voice, with a goal of becoming a choir teacher.”

Aside from her musical ensembles, Riley is also a very active member of the school’s Drama Club,  performing many roles in both drama and musical productions.  She will portray Ursula in the high school’s spring production of “The Little Mermaid.”

Selected students are considered to be the “best of the best” high school music students. The 2021 virtual event included several rehearsals with the 2021 All-National Honor Ensembles conductors and workshops with renowned clinicians. Each ensemble will create a final, recorded performance which will be premiered online during the 37th annual Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) in March. The final performances will be free of charge but will require sign-up in advance to view.

Riley was also selected to participate in the recent NYSSMA Area All-State and All-State Mixed Choir ensembles