Two high school students and three elementary students in Watauga County Schools have been selected for participation in elite choral groups. 

The five students chosen for the honors include Tyler Winkler and Sidney Ginn of Watauga High School and Parkway School students Abbie Anderson, Austin Idol and Emma Pinnix.

Winkler, a junior at the high school, performed as part of the N.C. Music Educators Association State High School Honors Chorus on Nov. 11 in Winston-Salem. He was one of only 160 students selected for the honor out of more than 1,200 that auditioned statewide, and he was chosen as one of one of the 20 best first tenor high school singers in North Carolina.

The auditions required singing one prepared piece of music and sight-reading a second piece before a panel of judges. Winkler’s participation in the State High School Honors Chorus provided him with the opportunity to rehearse and perform with top-notch singers at the music educators conference.

Ginn, also a junior at the high school, auditioned for the Mars Hill Choral clinic and was selected as a soprano from among hundreds who tried out statewide. The prestigious Mars Hill clinic has been in existence for more than 65 years and features nationally known choir directors each year. This clinic takes place in February.

The three Parkway students were chosen for participation in the N.C. Elementary Honors Chorus, a select group of elementary school music students that rehearsed and performed at the N.C. Music Educators Association in Winston-Salem during the Veterans Day weekend. Parkway’s students were among the 194 that were selected from among 640 auditions. Idol and Pinnix also made the honors chorus in 2011-12.

The elementary honors chorus performance in Winston-Salem was directed by Angela Broeker, an internationally known clinician from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Winkler and Ginn are members of the Honors Chorus at Watauga High School under the direction of Lisa Combs. Idol, Pinnix and Anderson participate in the music program at Parkway School under the direction of Sondra Edwards.

Students from both schools will appear in special holiday concerts at their respective schools.

The Parkway students will be part of A Musical Cornucopia at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at Parkway School.

Winkler and Ginn and the rest of the Watauga High School Honors Chorus will perform a winter concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the high school. This concert will also feature the high school’s Advanced Women’s Chorus and Freshman Chorus.

The concerts are free and open to the public. A listing of holiday events in all schools will be posted on the news and data page of the Watauga County Schools website this week.