Aberdeen High School choir selected for prestigious honor
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, September 3, 2025
The start of the 2025-2026 school year came with some great news for the 24-member Aberdeen High School Chamber Choir.
The ensemble has been selected to perform at the 2026 Washington Music Educators National Association for Music Education Conference, which will take place in Yakima over Presidents’ Day weekend, Feb. 12-15.
“This is an extremely prestigious experience where six to eight choirs from across Washington are selected to represent their communities and share the amazing music they are making with people from all around the state,” Choir Director Kyle Guggisberg Sholinder said.
According to Guggisberg Sholinder, auditions are welcomed each spring from middle school, high school, college and community choirs.
“There is a lot of competition out there in the music world,” he said.
Six to eight ensembles are typically selected for the conference, but the list usually includes just three high schools.
“This is a testament to just how amazing our students are and it cannot be overstated just how incredible this achievement is for them,” Guggisberg Sholinder said.
New board member
Recently, at a special meeting, the Aberdeen School Board of Directors selected Mardi Emard-Colburn to fill the Position 3 vacancy and she was sworn in at the regular meeting in the Community Room at Aberdeen High School Tuesday evening.
Emard-Colburn, an alumnus of both Aberdeen High School and Grays Harbor College, is replacing Jessica Jurasin who resigned in July.
Emard-Colburn and her husband have two daughters who attend Aberdeen schools. She holds bachelor degrees from Seattle Pacific University in music (vocal performance) and sociology, a master of education in student development administration from Seattle University, and has worked in academic advising at both the community college and university levels.
