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2024 ACDA Southern Region Conference February 21-24, 2024 Louisville, Kentucky

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Florida State University Hightower Trail Middle School
Chamber Choir Eighth-Grade Chorus

The Choral Department at HTMS has been under
the direction of Kati Stewart since 2019. There are
three non-auditioned ensembles: Sixth-Grade Chorus,
The Florida State University Chamber Choir is an Seventh-Grade Chorus, and Eighth-Grade Chorus.
auditioned, SATB ensemble made up of graduate and Students rehearse for fifty minutes daily in two separate
undergraduate students, as well as FSU faculty and staff. classes per grade level. The program maintains a con-

The choir performs repertoire particularly suitable for a tinuous membership of over 300 singers. HTMS Choirs
forty-voice ensemble and specializes in the performance consistently earn superior ratings at performance evalua-
of extended choral works. Recent performances include tions. Most recently, our eighth-grade chorus performed
J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks at Georgia MEA in 2023.
of Leonardo DaVinci, G. F. Handel’s Messiah, Craig Hella
Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, and Robert Ray’s Kati Stewart has been teaching middle
Gospel Mass. school chorus since 2014. In addition to
teaching, she enjoys performing as a staff
Michael Hanawalt is the director of grad- church vocalist, choral artist, wedding
uate choral studies at the Florida State singer, and jazz vocalist. Stewart regularly
University, where he conducts the Cham- performs around the Metro Atlanta area. She holds de-
ber Choir, teaches graduate courses in con- grees from Kennesaw State University (BME) and the
ducting and choral literature, and serves as Florida State University (MME). She lives in Marietta
artistic director for the Tallahassee Community Chorus. with her husband, Chris Otts, and their dog, Archer.
Hanawalt was executive director of the professional
male vocal ensemble Cantus, recording twelve CDs, par-
ticipating in 200 educational outreach events, and per-
forming 500 concerts, including collaborations with the
King’s Singers, the Boston Pops, the St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Hanawalt is
active as a tenor soloist, guest conductor, and arranger.
Previous teaching appointments include St. Olaf Col-
lege and Wichita State University, where he earned the
College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award.

70 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5