Seminole High Noles Choir named 2026 Choir of Distinction

Seminole High School’s Noles Choir earned a rare spotlight for Seminole County, outlasting a close field that included Lake Brantley High School to become the 2026 Choir of Distinction from the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.

The honor places the Sanford program among a small group of high school choirs singled out each year, one from Orange County and one from Seminole County, for strong musicianship, sight-reading and presentation. The Bach Festival Society launched the education initiative in 2023, making the 2026 recognition the fourth annual Choir of Distinction competition.

For Seminole High, the award is more than a line for the trophy case. It gives the Noles Choir a nine-month choral instruction program and a chance to perform with the Bach Festival Choir and orchestra at Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins College campus, tying a local high school ensemble to one of Central Florida’s most established arts institutions. The Bach Festival Society dates to 1935, and Rollins College describes it as the third-oldest continuously operating Bach Festival in the United States.

Choir director Samantha Torres Baker learned of the recognition during a surprise classroom presentation on March 6, a moment that carried extra meaning because Baker is a Rollins College music graduate who once worked with Dr. John V. Sinclair. Sinclair, now in his 32nd season as artistic director and conductor of the Bach Festival Society and director of music at Rollins, has long shaped the organization’s performance and education pipeline. The Bach Festival Choir itself is an audition-only volunteer ensemble, underscoring the level of musicianship the society wants to develop.

The society said the Seminole County selection came after a close competition, a detail that adds weight to the win and reflects the strength of the county’s music programs. For students such as senior and chorus president Ja’Neriah DeBose, the award is a public validation of work that happens daily in rehearsal rooms, not under Friday night lights. For families weighing where their children can thrive, the recognition signals that Seminole High’s arts program is not an add-on, but a serious pathway to excellence and a point of pride for the school and the community it serves.