Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home High School seniors Loren Rye and Cole Stumbaugh have followed their musical passion and dreams and it’s paid off.
The two were recently named to the all-state choir, and Stumbaugh was further named to the All-Northwest choir.
He was selected from more than 4,500 applicants from high schools all over the Northwest, high school choir director Jesse Chandler-Dreher said. “We just did a little tape recording. They had to sing some scales on tape as good a quality as we could and send it in.”
He received a letter about Stumbaugh and the All-Northwest choir on Nov. 20. The week before, he received notification that Rye and Stumbaugh had been selected to the all-state choir.
Chandler-Dreher said Stumbaugh was one of about 100 singers chosen from more than 4,500 applicants. The all-state men’s and women’s choirs are made up of some 100 singers each, he said.
“Rye and Stumbaugh have been singing since junior high or before,” Chandler-Dreher said. “They stand out. People know that Cole is a good singer. People know that Loren is a good singer. They are leaders as singers.
“Their love for music was apparent the first day I met them. They’re also musicians. They are not just singers. They’re musicians and planning to study music in college.”
Both plan to perform with the all-star choirs.
“I thought it was a great opportunity, the fact that I actually had the chance to go,” Rye said.
Both have been involved in music since grade school. Stumbaugh started singing in school in the sixth grade. Rye started taking piano lessons in the fourth grade.
“I didn’t join the actual concert choir till my sophomore year,” Rye said. After years of musical training, she thought that using her voice would be fun.
“It’s expressive,” she said. “There isn’t just one sound your voice can make, like a piano. You can change it. If you’re feeling down, you can sing.
“I sing all the time. My life has revolved around singing. It’s a passion. If you don’t have music, you have nothing.”
Stumbaugh said music is a “priority” in his life.
“It’s just all around music,” he said. “I know people have told me I have a good voice a lot of my life.”
But “I’ve never been too sure about my voice,” he said, noting that achievements such as making the All-Northwest Choir give him confidence.
Both are involved in music outside of school.
Rye directed the junior choir at the Singing Christmas Tree.
“My kids are great,” she said. “I love them. It’s fun, and we’re teaching them real music.”
She also enjoys drama and acts in high school plays. She wants to some day perform in a musical, travel as a performer or teach at the high school level after attending community college and then a university.
Stumbaugh has his own band, a reggae-punk-alternative style group called the Pasiphiks, and plays a wide variety of instruments. He wants to either attend Oregon State University or a music trade school and then direct and compose music.
Both say they love music, with few – if any – boundaries.
“I like everything except rap, but it’s fun to dance to,” Rye said. She tends to favor blues classics, such as B.B. King.
“I love John Prine. He’d actually be my favorite.”
In classical music, she said, she enjoys Tchaikovsky.
Stumbaugh said he probably enjoys Rachmaninoff and Mozart the most. He also enjoys things like Mars Volta and Bob Marley.
“I don’t really like to judge the music (people) listen to,” he said.
Outside of drama, as far as Rye’s extracurricular activities, “I just say I’m sleeping,” she said.
“That’s sort of right,” Stumbaugh said, although he is a top swimmer on the swim team and enjoys longboarding, a type of street-surfing.