Niles senior Quinten Cowell waited the entire summer to find out if his audition for the All State Choir was worthy of a selection. It was.
In May of last year, when Cowell was still a junior at Niles McKinley High School, his choir teacher made the recommendation that he apply for the competition. Two students, including Cowell, sent in CD auditions.
Cowell received word in September that his audition passed muster and he was invited to participate in the Ohio Music Education Association's public choir performance.
Only 150 choir students from the state were invited to participate in the public performance held during the OMEA's Professional Development Conference held Jan. 27 to 29 in Cincinnati.
To enter, Cowell sent in a CD of himself singing a song and the music scale.
A member of the Niles' high school elite choir, Bells and Beaux since his sophomore year, Cowell has always been interested in music, singing as a child and being a part of the high school band where he plays the trumpet and baritone euphonium.
''I started singing because my older sister was in choir and it looked like fun,'' Cowell said.
After being chosen for the state choir, Cowell held three rehearsals with about 50 other participants who were chosen from the Northeast region.
''We had to sing some very hard choral songs,'' Cowell said.
Cowell, who sings the tenor 1 position, says he met some very amazing people at the conference and made some lasting friendships.
''The All State Choir is one of the best experiences I've had in my life,'' he said.
He was accompanied to the conference by his father, Robert Cowell of Warren and his choir teacher from Niles McKinley, Angela Gargano.
In addition to choir and band, Cowell is a member of Students Against Drunk Driving, the National Honor Society and he plays soccer. His future plans include attending Capital University in Columbus, where he intends to major in music technology.
Although he plans to continue singing, Cowell said he hopes to someday be a music producer. His favorite music styles include alternative, pop and punk, although he said he likes all forms of music.
Cowell lives in Niles with his mother, Marla Cowell, and has three sisters.