Kittatinny singers reap honors in county choir

Hampton - A trio of Kittatinny Regional High School students hit a musical high note during rehearsals for the Sussex County Honors Choir. Eighth-grader Tess Oldfield auditioned with 35 other sopranos for the only solo part in an upcoming performance and was selected. The student selected as back-up soloist was another Kittatinny student, seventh-grader Erin Optiz. In addition, eighth-grader Hailey Magee won the Sussex County Honors Choir $100 scholarship for her vocal attributes and sight reading ability. It is the first time honors choir organizers deemed any singer worthy of the award, according to chorus teacher Jan Wilgenkamp. He credited the achievements of the three Kittatinny students to the school’s greater emphasis on sight reading music. Wilgenkamp read an article last year that urged choral directors to teach sight reading as if “your job depended on it.” He took the message to heart and since then has devoted part of each class to coaching students on how to read notes, identify key signatures and sing songs without accompaniment, he explained.