KENOSHA, Wis. — More than 800 students from across the Kenosha Unified School District filled the field house at Indian Trail High School and Academy Saturday night for the 59th Annual Choral Festival, a districtwide performance that blended elementary, middle, and high school voices into one large-scale celebration of music.

The concert, held at 6:30 p.m., was led by guest conductor Dr. Christopher Owen of Northeastern Illinois University, who spent the previous two days rehearsing with secondary choirs across the district . Owen conducted many of the combined ensembles throughout the evening.

The festival opened with the Combined Festival Chorus performing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” arranged by Patricia Black, followed by “Hope” by Zachary Moore.

Individual high school ensembles then took the stage. Tremper High School Chorale performed “Nothin’ Gonna Stumble My Feet” by Greg Gilpin. Indian Trail High School & Academy Chorale followed with “Ezekiel,” arranged by Stacey Gibbs.

The Combined High School Bass Voices delivered “Ad Astra” by Jacob Naverud, and the Elementary All-City Choir performed “Kama Muta” by Aaron Gage.

One of the evening’s more dynamic moments came as the Combined High School Chorus performed “Elements: II: Air” and “Elements: III: Fire” by Katerina Gimon, showcasing the depth and range of the district’s upper-level vocalists.

Middle school students were featured in two mass choir performances. The Combined Middle School 6th Grade Chorus sang “I Am a Voice That Sings” by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, while the Combined Middle School 7th-8th Grade Chorus performed “Heartbeat” by Kyle Pederson .

The Combined High School Treble Voices performed “Flight,” by Craig Carnelia, arranged by Ryan Murphy. Harborside, Lakeview Academy, and Reuther Chorale joined forces for “More Waters Rising,” by Saro Lynch-Thomason, arranged by Adam and Matt Podd .

Bradford High School Choirs performed “Tarekita” by Reena Esmail .

The evening concluded with the Combined Festival Chorus performing “Let the River Run,” words and music by Carly Simon, arranged by Craig Hella Johnson, bringing students from multiple grade levels together for a unified finale.

In his closing remarks, Owen called the experience “an absolute joy,” praising the students and teachers while also highlighting the broader community that supports music education.

“There’s not many communities that come together like this to show the joy of lifelong learning and the arts in quite this way,” Owen said. He thanked students for welcoming him into their schools and credited families in the audience for supporting rehearsals, lessons, and performances throughout the year.

District officials note that KUSD’s music festivals are entirely self-funded through ticket sales and donations, making community support essential to sustaining events of this scale.

Now in its 59th year, the Choral Festival continues to stand as one of the district’s largest fine arts events — bringing together hundreds of voices from across Kenosha for one night of shared music and community pride.