For most choir singers, careers end after the spring concert in May, but for 2018 North Penn alum Emma Moyer, it was only the beginning of a life-long music career. At Westminster Choir College, Moyer has found the perfect place to expand her choir and music career past the high school level. 

“The adjustment between high school and college wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. My college is much smaller than North Penn, only about 200 students total and less than 40 in my class, but this transition was easy to make because of the incredibly accepting people I met. College life has been super busy but rewarding,’ said Moyer. 

“Along with my classes and on-campus jobs, I work at a church in New Jersey as a choir section leader. I also take up paid singing jobs whenever I can, and one recently gave me the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall. With my school’s Symphonic Choir, I recently sung at the Kimmel Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I’m grateful for the incredible experiences I’ve had in college so far and I can’t wait to see what comes up next,” she explained.

Moyer sings in the Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir. In freshman year, she participated in the handbell choir. All three choirs are auditioned, meaning that Moyer had to beat out other students for a spot in the choirs. Outside of singing, she is the treasurer of the college’s American Choral Directors Association chapter and an usher and box office attendant for on-campus concerts.

Moyer’s hard work has paid off, as she has won multiple different awards at Westminster. 

Said Moyer, “last spring, I received a 5th place voice scholarship award among the students in my class. I also won a music composition scholarship in addition to several academic scholarships last year. This year, I received a scholarship based on GPA that is given to the top 1% of students from my class.”

As a high school student, Moyer had many accomplishments that allowed her to get into a competitive college. At North Penn, Moyer took classes such as Chorus, Introduction to Acting, Ceramics, and Gifted Mentorship. However, her extracurriculars and choir accomplishments set Moyer apart from thousands of other students. 

Moyer reflected on her time at North Penn, stating, “I was the secretary (junior year) and vice president (senior year) of the chorus cabinet, and I participated in Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir. I also was a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Link Crew. I had a few different major accomplishments in high school. I had the honor of singing in the NAfME All-National and All-Eastern choirs in addition to PMEA District, Region, and All-State choirs every year of high school. I also won several scholarships at Senior Awards, including our choir program’s Davis Giersch Scholarship.”

After a very successful choir and school career in high school and college, Moyer plans to graduate in 2022 with her bachelors in Music Education. She plans to continue to sing professionally for churches and choirs as well as to become a high school choir director. Looking deeper into the future, Moyer stated that she is considering attending graduate school in order to be a choir director for a college. In the meantime, she plans to focus on the different activities she is a part of and her work with outside choir and churches. 

What was your favorite part of high school?

My favorite part of high school was making memories with so many wonderful people. 

What do you miss most about North Penn?

I miss the incredible friends and teachers I met at North Penn. They helped to shape me into the person I am today, and it is still so strange to not see them everyday. I try to keep in touch and visit when I can.

What advice would you give our Seniors?

Cherish your last year of high school and surround yourself with people that make you happy. Don’t stress yourself out, but don’t pass up opportunities to get involved with school activities either; it will all go by super fast.