St. Mary’s Academy (SMA) has long known that the angels sing inside its walls, but now the audience at the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) 2006 gala concert will hear them as well. Chelsea Delgado and Madeline Schaefer were chosen from approximately 1,200 students to perform as part of the 2006 All State Choir, Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 p.m. in the Hult Center in Eugene, Oregon. The OMEA All State Honor Awards are presented on a bi-annual basis and Andre Thomas will conduct the choir.

Chelsea Delgado’s inclusion in the OMEA State Choir is especially noteworthy because she’s only been singing for four years. The SMA Junior is a triple treat in the performance world because she sings, dances, and has been acting professionally since she was eight years old. She began acting with the Oregon Children’s Theater and now works for them as a representative for the organization’s Young Professionals Program. Currently, Delgado is performing in her fifth opera for Opera Theater of Oregon, and is involved in the group’s Young Artist Studio, one of the only opera preparatory organizations for high school students in the nation. At St. Mary’s, Delgado is a consistent honor roll member, a cantor at masses, and sings for the Ladies of Calgary. Performing is her passion, and her goal is to attend a conservatory in New York City and become an opera singer at the Metropolitan Opera.

Since she began playing the violin at age four, SMA Senior Madeline Schaefer has had a productive musical career. Her singing lessons began shortly thereafter, and she has since participated in two operas with the Two Rivers Farm Company, been a member of the Pacific Youth Choir, received top scores in the Solo Ensemble Competition, acted in four SMA musicals – playing the lead in two, and sung with the Marian Singers for three years. Her lovely performances can regularly be heard at St. Mary’s events. Schaefer continues to enjoy the violin, and has taught a summer violin camp at the Two Rivers Farm School for the last three years. Her dream is to become an opera star and recording artist and her top choices for college are the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

OMEA is a nonprofit educational association whose purpose is to provide professional in-service educational experiences through district and state conferences, clinics and journals for music educators and music students in Oregon's schools. The Association provides the leadership for district and state educational activities in music to serve the students of Oregon.

Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.