Welcome to the Palmetto Ridge High School Orchestra & Choir website. The Palmetto Ridge High School Orchestras & Choirs from Naples, FL (Collier County Public Schools) strives to instill a tradition of excellence in music education for all of its students.
The program consists of four ensembles: Concert Orchestra, which is open to all 9-12th grade students, Chamber Orchestra, which is open to all 9-12th grade students by audition, SSAA Choir, which is available to all 9-12th grade girls, and Chamber Choir, which is available to all 9-12th grade students by audition.
Palmetto Ridge Orchestras and Choirs have consistently earned "Excellent" and "Superior" ratings at District and State Music Performance Assessments. In 2023, the Palmetto Ridge Orchestra and Choir Programs were invited to perform for Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration at Disney Springs. Additionally, the Choir was invited to perform the National Anthem for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and for a National Televised Audience.
News from our Orchestra & Choir!
Rollercoasters, competition, trophies, oh my!
Congratulations to our Orchestra and Choir who competed on March 23rd at the Music in the Parks Competition in Orlando!
The ensembles received Superior Raitings from our judges! Additionally the Choir took 2nd place in the High School AA Mixed Choir division and the Orchestra took 1st Place in the High School AA String Orchestra division and Overall Champion for all High School Orchestras!
Success at All-State!
Congratulations to Alyia Tucker, and Michael Lakin who both represented Palmetto Ridge at the annual FMEA All-State Concert Series. These ensembles are made up of only the very best individuals in music from our state and our extremely difficult to be accepted into. Alyia displayed grace and expertise in the Concert Choir and Michael showed charisma and a boisterous tone with the TTBB Choir. We are so proud of them both!
Additionally, our choir president Laci Prue, joined other members of the Palmetto Ridge’s Tri-M Music Honor Society at the Tri-M Experience hosted by FMEA learning about music education and leadership skills. Congratulations to her as well!
Chamber Orchestra Performs at Superintendents Summit
Former CCPS superintendent, Dr. Kamela Patton, invited the chamber orchestra to perform at the District Administration Superintendents Summit. The students performed for around 80 school superintendents from across the country. The student’s displayed a wealth of experience and talent for the crowd and garnered compliments for many of the superintendents in attendance, with some even asking Dr. Patton if we were a university orchestra! Way to go to these amazing students!
Winterfest Performances Dazzle All!
The 20th annual Palmetto Ridge Winterfest Concerts dazzle all in attendance! With spectacular performances by the entire PRHS Music Department, the holiday/winter season was on full display for a packed house of parents, families, and friends from the community. The crowd was especially wow’d by performances of Mary, Did you Know? by our Concert Choir, Boreas: The Cold, North Wind by our Chamber Orchestra, and Santa the Barbarian by our Concert Orchestra! Way to go to all!
Visit from UCF Professor of Violin, Dr. Winter!
Our Concert Orchestra got to work with Dr. Ross Winter, Violin Professor at the University of Central Florida while he was in Naples to perform with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. Dr. Winter took the opportunity Friday, to visit several CCPS schools and work with our students from sectional coaching to ensemble rehearsal feedback and technique building. Dr. Winter, listened to the Concert Orchestra perform there three pieces for Winterfest today providing us with fantastic feedback to build upon as we prepare for our concerts!
Students selected to the 2024 All-State Choirs!
Congratulations to Alyia Tucker, and Michael Lakin on being accepted into the 2024 All-State Choirs! It is among the highest honors a high school student can earn in music to be named an All-State Performer! Alyia and Michael continue a tradition of Palmetto Ridge students accepted into these ensembles over the past few years!
Alyia and Michael will perform at the Florida Music Education Association’s professional development conference in early January! Congratulations to these two on their hard work and dedication to representing themselves, our choir program, and Palmetto Ridge at the highest levels!
Twelve inducted into PRHS Music Honor Society
Congratulations to twelve of our Orchestra & Choir Students who were inducted into the PRHS Tri-M Music Honor Society on November 14th!
The Tri-M Music Honor Society is a program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), which focuses on creating future leaders in music education and music advocacy. The organization recognizes students that have gone above and beyond both academically and musically while providing students leadership opportunities to make a difference in their community through music-based service projects.
Congratulations to Dylan Barreat, Osdany Bouza Aleman, Amelia Bowen, Kathryn Caudill, Brisayda Chavez, Ashley Cote, Mailuby Figueredo, Laci Prue, Ava Reynolds, Ashley Summers, Alyia Tucker, and Kimberly Whitelocke!
Winn-Dixie Fundraiser brings in over $1500!
The orchestra & choir’s annual Winn-Dixie fundraiser was another huge success! Students stood outside the doors of our local Winn-Dixie from 9:00AM to 5:00PM asking for donations from patrons who were entering and exiting the store. Thanks to the generous support of Winn-Dixie’s patrons we were able to bring in over $1500 to support the program with paying for things such as the Universal Trip, Instrument Repairs, and Conference costs for the upcoming All-State Festival and professional development conference.
Superiors at Districts!
Congratulations to our orchestras for their performances at Music Performance Assessment (MPA) this weekend! Our Chamber orchestra received a Straight Superior Rating and the Concert Orchestra received an overall Excellent Rating! MPA is our states formal assessment of our ensembles which provides feedback on the skills we work on over the course of the school year.
