Carlsbad student sings with California All-State Honor Choir

CARLSBAD, Calif. – April 21, 2014

Pacific Ridge School junior Benjamin DeSoto Mayor recently took the stage as a member of the 2014 California All-State Honor Choir.

The choir’s annual concert took place at Sacramento’s Community Center Theater on March 22. DeSoto Mayor performed with the mixed choir, which includes both male and female singers, under the direction of professional choral director Dr. Joshua Habermann, current Director of the Dallas Symphony Choir.

Of the more than 1,000 students who auditioned statewide, only 100 were chosen for the prestigious choir. DeSoto Mayor was selected based on a Southern California Vocal Association audition, which included tests of vocals, range, interpretation, tonal memorization and sight-reading skills.

In addition to participating in the California All-State Honor Choir, Desoto Mayor performed a lead role in Pacific Ridge’s 2014 Upper School Musical, Kiss Me, Kate, was selected to the Southern California Honor Choir, and performed with the Pacific Ridge A Cappella ensemble at the Chicago Festival of Gold. For Pacific Ridge School’s upcoming spring production, DeSoto Mayor will serve as assistant director, sound designer and actor. This summer he will travel to Edinburgh, Scotland where he and classmates have been invited to perform at the American High School Theatre Festival at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The busy schedule suits DeSoto Mayor, for whom a love of performing is a familial trait. His father, Benjamin DeSoto Mayor (Ben is a Jr.) was an operatic tenor who toured extensively through South and Central America before pursuing a career in Christian Pop, and his uncle was once named the best tenor in Puerto Rico.

"Singing and acting is something I want to do for the rest of my life," DeSoto Mayor said. "It's an amazing way to express yourself and there's always something to learn from another person's perspective, whether it is a songwriter or a character you might be playing."