Posted March 19, 2021

The 84 student singers of the 2021 All Catholic Chorus, representing archdiocesan and private Catholic high schools in the five-county region, will perform Saturday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. in a virtual concert from the Conwell-Egan High School Auditorium in Fairless Hills.

Rachel Cornacchio will be the guest conductor of the concert, hosted by Conwell-Egan President Thomas Lynch and the school’s director of performing arts, Thomas Kuchler.

View the livestream of the concert here.

The students will perform “Walk in Jerusalem,” arr. by Rollo A. Dilworth; “Bogoroditse Devo” by Sergei Rachmoninoff, arr. by Veronica Sichivtsa; “Ave Verum” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. by Collins; and “How Can I Keep from Singing,” arr. by Gwyneth Walker.

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Participating students from archdiocesan secondary schools include Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor (Delaware County); Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia; Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster (Bucks County); Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown (Chester County); Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School in Drexel Hill (Delaware County); Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield (Delaware County); Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Fairless Hills (Bucks County); Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls’ in the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia; Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford (Montgomery County); and Roman Catholic High School for Boys in Center City, Philadelphia.

Students from private Catholic High Schools including the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova (Delaware County); Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem (Bucks County); Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in North Philadelphia; Martin Saints Classical High School in Oreland (Montgomery County); Nazareth Academy High School in Northeast Philadelphia; and Villa Marie Academy High School in Malvern (Chester County).

Guest conductor Cornacchio is a professor of music and director of music education at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

She has taught in public schools in New York, New Jersey and Florida in grades K-12. While Cornacchio served as director of choral activities at Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York, choirs and soloists under her direction received top honors at solo and ensemble festivals.

Community organizations with which she has worked include the Newburgh Symphonic Chorale and the Oregon Young Women’s Choir. Before coming to Messiah College, Cornacchio was visiting instructor at the University of Oregon where she directed the University Concert Choir and taught courses in choral music education.

Cornacchio has presented papers at the regional, national, and international levels. Research interests include Conductor Expressivity, Adolescent Voices, and Making Music with Children ages 0-5.

Her professional affiliations include the Music Educators National Conference, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, American Choral Directors Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She currently serves as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Women’s Choirs for the American Choral Directors Association – PA, and is a certified Music Together instructor, an early childhood music program.

Cornacchio is active as a guest conductor and clinician.