Cleveland County Schools stages All‑County Choral Festival 2025

Cleveland County Schools presented the All‑County Choral Festival 2025, an evening of performances by middle‑ and high‑school choirs from across the county. Guest conductor Caroline Simeon of Catawba Valley Community College led the all‑county ensemble, and David Brooks served as clinician for the middle school portion of the concert.

The festival gathered choral directors, accompanists and students from multiple schools. Connor Davis (Crest Middle School), Rebecca Bridges (Shelby Middle School), Susan Gray (Kings Mountain Middle School) and Shayan White (Burns Middle School) were recognized as middle‑school directors; Kendra Mickels (Crest High School), Sarah Fulton (Kings Mountain High School), Sydney Hayes (Shelby High School) and Amy Jones (Burns High School) were named for the high‑school portion. Lydia Scruggs accompanied the middle‑school selections and also accompanies at Burns Middle and Burns High School.

David Brooks, introduced as a native of Cleveland County and the choral director at Wilkes Central High School, thanked directors and praised the students. "It's great to be home," Brooks said, adding that the students were attentive and that music is a "shared experience." Caroline Simeon, credited in the program as a conductor at Catawba Valley Community College, led the all‑county choir in its concluding selections.

Amy Jones, Burns High School choral director, thanked board members, superintendents, principals and teachers in attendance and emphasized the value of the county's choral staffing. "To my knowledge, we are the only county in the whole state of North Carolina that offers that position," Jones said, referring to a staffing role in Cleveland County choral classrooms.

The concert included a middle‑school set, a high‑school set and combined all‑county pieces. The program concluded with brief closing remarks and a final thank‑you to the audience; Jones closed the evening by thanking attendees and saying, "Good night."