West Milford Chambersingers awarded Grand Champion trophy

Roxbury, N.J. — The West Milford High School Chambersingers have a new trophy to add to their collection: Vocal Jazz Grand Champion of the Roxbury (NJ) Choral Invitational. Members received the honor when they competed against concert, show and jazz choirs from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. The Chambersingers, under the direction of Doug Heyburn, have been awarded Grand Champions once before in Roxbury. On both occasions they were accompanied on piano by West Milford Jazz musician, Mitch Schechter. Their afternoon adjudicated performance was followed by a clinic with competition judge, Larry Lapin, the director of Jazz Studies from the University of Miami. Heyburn said Lapin walked into the clinic room and said, “I have nothing to critique you on. You did it all and you did it all right.” Their score ranked the West Milford singers at the top in the vocal jazz category and earned them a spot in the evening showcase at this prestigious choral festival. At the conclusion of the concert, West Milford was awarded the Grand Champion Trophy and given a gold rating trophy as well. Lusi Yeghiazaryan received a trophy for her outstanding solo on their acappella ballad, Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep. Brett Gray performed and impressed the solo judges with his rendition of “Mama Says” from the Broadway musical Footloose. The Chambersingers will be joining their concert choir colleagues at the end of the month when they perform a classical choral concert at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City.