Rutherford County Schools is singing the praises of more student success stories. This time, it's high school choir singers who are showcasing their exceptional talents at two Nashville concerts. The Mid-State Choir and Freshman Honors events will be held Nov. 14-15 at First Baptist Church in Nashville. All-State Choir events will be at the Tennessee Music Educators Association's annual conference at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville from April 5-8, 2017.

Mid-State and All-State choir auditions were held this past weekend and Rutherford County Schools had the highest number of students accepted from throughout the state of Tennessee, said Lindsay Halford, this county's fine arts coordinator.

Rutherford County Schools had 90 accepted to Mid-State Choir. That's more than any of the other Middle Tennessee school district. Thirty-tow local students were picked to be in the prestigious All-State Choir and thirty-eight were selected for the Freshman Honors choir, again than any other district.

"Rutherford County Schools choir teachers put in an incredible amount of work to ensure their students' successes," Halford said, "including working with students after school, organizing a Mid-State Choir workshop and working last Thursday night, Friday night and all day Saturday at the auditions, which were hosted by Siegel High School.

"Every chairperson for the Mid-State and freshman events is an RCS teacher showing their dedication to their students and to their craft."

Local students make up 23 percent of the Mid-State Choir and 24 percent of the All-State Choir, while 24 percent of Freshman Honors Choir represent the district.

Singers from Rutherford County make up nearly a quarter of the ensembles, and perhaps more importantly, students from every high school that has a choir is represented.

"I'd venture to say we are the only district for which that is the case," Halford speculated.

Rutherford County Schools is an award-winning school district and an education leader in Tennessee. The district is comprised of 46 schools and more than 43,000 students. The mission of Rutherford County Schools is to empower today's students to grasp tomorrow's opportunities.