Staples High School Singers, Musicians Selected For CMEA All-State Festival

WESTPORT, CT — Staples High School is celebrating 24 student singers and musicians from its band, choir and orchestra programs who were selected to participate in the Connecticut Music Educators Association All-State Festival in Hartford last month.

The annual festival, which was held from March 26 through March 28 at the Hartford Convention Center, brought together top high school musicians from across Connecticut for what it described as an intensive musical experience.

Students were selected through an audition process for the statewide festival, showcasing the high level of achievement in the Staples ensembles.

Over three days, students took part in a series of rehearsals led by guest conductors before a final performance. The event, according to the school, concluded with a showcase of student musicians' work during the festival.

Guest conductors for the 2026 festival were Arreon Harley-Emerson for Mixed Choir, Lindsay Pope for Treble Choir, Bryen Warfield for Band, Tristan Rais-Sherman for Orchestra and Julius Tolentino for Jazz.

Staples High School is proud to recognize the following students for their selection to the CMEA All-State
Festival:

BAND: Justin Jendrock, Gargi Karve, Dylan Taylor, Christian Green (horn in orchestra)

CHOIR: Veronica Albee, Josie Caricato, James Donoghue, Beckwith Fipp, Catherine Herbert, Abigail Kim, Josephine Lewertoff, Jasmita Mani Lorenzato, Lyla McEntee, Sophia Macris, Christian Michaels, Denver Razza, Helen Root, Ari Sklar, Samantha Skopp

ORCHESTRA: Kirthana Gowthaman, Isabel Jo, Isabella Mariani, Ayush Rudra, Chloe Wong