The way she sang in her kindergarten play made a special guest professional at the play to tell her she was “something special.”
And this year — seven years later — that “something special” in Andrew Jackson Middle School seventh-grader Harmony Parsons earned her a spot in the All-State Chorus, the first Andrew Jackson Middle girl selected in 15 years.
“I have a lot of potential to be a great singer in the future,” Harmony said. “It gives me the experience I need to make it.”
Harmony has sung for most of her life. She was selected for honor choir in fifth grade, as well as the All-County Choir and SMARTS Camp Choir.
“I’m very proud of her and she works very hard at it,” Harmony’s father Stuart Parsons said. “It’s good to see that she is being rewarded for it. I’m glad that she’ll have great opportunities later.”
Through one-on-one singing practice with her church choir director Joel Howle and with Andrew Jackson Middle chorus teacher Dr. Thomas Moncrief, Harmony has gained the confidence to seize opportunities, like singing the national anthem at Lancaster’s Red Rose Festival.
She also won the People’s Choice Award in the youth category at the Lancaster’s Got Talent show, which kicked off the Red Rose Festival last May.
Her next opportunity after her Red Rose Festival performance was to try out for the All-State Chorus.
The All-State Chorus is a music program for selected middle schoolers — a perfect time for Harmony to test her skills.
“My choir director mentioned it and he wanted me to do it,” Harmony said. “I thought it would be a good experience.”
She submitted her audition for the sopranos group and awaited the results.
About two months later, her teacher found out, then her mom, and then Harmony that she was one of 35 selected from 300 auditions.
Moncrief was so proud — he knew Harmony had the potential.
And her family was proud of her, too, with her dad being the most excited. For Harmony, a program like All-State Chorus is something that opens doors for her future as a singer, Parsons said.
“She may be able to go to schools for singing,” he said. “She now gets to meet a lot of college music professors at a young age.”
The success Harmony achieved as a young singer has been life-changing for her, she said. All-State Chorus has given her a chance to grow even further as a singer, and make some new, potentially lifelong friends along the way.
“Thank you to all of her teachers and the music director at church,” Parsons said. “All the hard work is definitely paying off.”
