Ellie Force (11), Marley Higlen (11) and Tyler Bugg (12) have been recognized by scoring in the top 20 of singers in their choral sections in the state of Missouri earning them All-Choir status. It’s the first year in known Liberty history that three singers have made the recognition list, rather than one. Additionally, Force was selected as a full member of the 2026 Missouri All-State Choir – a rare and difficult achievement.
“In my first and second years of teaching, we didn’t have any students make All-State Choir. In my third year, we had one student (Grace Edney), and in my fourth year, one student, (Brandt Cleppe). But this is the first time since I’ve been teaching here that we had three students make the recognition list,” Choir director Carter Datz said. “It was a nice surprise. I want as many students as possible to be able to say they made it.”
Each person who made All-State has a different role. For Ellie Force, she scored fourth highest Tenor in the state and was admitted to perform as a full member of the All-State Choir, a special honor. Tyler Bugg and Marley Higlen will be first and second alternate for each of their sections, respectively, with Bugg scoring fifth of all Tenors in the state and Higlen scoring sixth of all Altos in the state.
So what does this mean? Force, who made the All-State Choir this year will be rehearsing on various dates and then attending the All-State conference in January at Osage Beach (Lake of the Ozarks). There, All-State members will attend different choir events and clinics, and on the last day the All-State Choir will perform. Those who serve as alternates (Bugg and Higlen), may be part of the choir if someone cannot attend, and are automatically invited to sing in the 11-12 Festival Choir next summer, along with the full All-State choir members.
For Force, she is more than excited to be admitted as a full member of the choir.
“This was one of the biggest shocks of my life,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘It’s junior year, there’s no way I’ll get in.’ And then I did.”
In order to be selected, students start with district auditions.
“They meet with me to rehearse once a week for 15 minutes,” Datz said. “There’s solo and sight reading parts of their auditions, and I help them make sure they sound the best they can. The All-State process is similar. I give more feedback but they all sing the same song given by Missouri All-State Choirs. I’m very proud, the four people who auditioned were very self-motivated and hard working.”
“If there’s anything I’ve learned from this experience, it’s that your hard work does pay off, so trust and hope in what you do,” Force said. “You have to always push for the highest you can.”
