Clayton State Students Participated in a World Music Festival Choir Concert

(August 17, 2026) - Clayton State music major Noah Brunson and music minors Christopher Brooks and Shane Abraham recently participated in a World Music Festival Choir concert associated with the World Cup in Atlanta. The concert, sponsored by Atlanta Music Project, featured music from South Africa, Czechia (Czech Republic), and the United States. The choir was made up of top high school singers and a few college musicians participating as music mentors.

The World Music Festival Choir concert was led by conductor Dr. David Morrow, who is a long-term member of the Music faculty at Morehouse College and conductor of the Morehouse College Glee Club. Pamela Dillard, a professional Opera/Concert singer and Voice Teacher at Spelman College, also worked with the students.

Noah Brunson is entering his third year at Clayton State as a Music Education major. He was very excited to take all that he has learned in the classroom and work with experienced music professionals and other aspiring musicians. He said, "We got to work with major conductors from the USA and other countries. It was great! It challenged us a lot, but it was all worth it. We learned five different languages in two weeks."

Noah plans to use his degree in music from Clayton State to pass on his passion for music to young aspiring musicians. He said, “When I graduate, I have plans to be a high school choral teacher.”

So not only did Noah gain from the pressure to perform at a high level, but he also had the opportunity to gain experience working with younger students. He said, “We were able to mentor some of the younger kids. I think it was like 6th grade through 12th grade singers with aspirations to be music education majors.”

Noah summed up the experience by sharing that a lot of work was dedicated to getting himself and the students ready for the concert performance. He shared that “We had to put in a lot of time, a lot of practice at home, a lot of practice with them. We had to practice Monday through Thursday with the choir.”

Christopher Brooks is entering his sophomore year at Clayton State, majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Music and Entertainment.

Christopher shared that he has family members who hold various positions in the field of law, but he has always had a passion for music. He said, “I came out of the womb singing, basically. I was just always around music, and now I'm an artist looking for a label. Right now, I'm with R&B and rap. I also want to start composing my own music and moving into different genres.”

Christopher enjoyed working with the younger students. He said, “They were very good, like cool people to meet. So, at first, I thought they were not going to be listening, but they were very much like a sponge and able to take in the information they were given.”

Shane Abraham is a sophomore majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Music Entertainment. He noted that from a very young age he had a passion for music, sharing that “Since I was about seven years old, I've been playing the drums, so I've been really ingrained in instrumental music. And as I got older, I started doing vocal performance.”

Shane said working with children “was completely new to me. I was guiding them through the process.” He said it was a positive experience being a mentor to the younger students. “I feel like that helping hand really allowed them to grow as musicians and grow into themselves as they become adults.”

In terms of learning new songs and performing songs in foreign languages in a short period of time, Shane acknowledged it was challenging. “As Noah said, we had a strict crunch-time type schedule in terms of practices, rehearsals, and games and everything to be learned. So, it was very stressful, but I think it worked out and we actually had a great time, and our performance was wonderful.”