It’s not every day high school singers get to ask a composer exactly what they meant by a specific note. During this year’s Hastings College Honor Band and Choir Festival, that’s exactly what happened.
More than 100 of Nebraska’s top student musicians gathered Jan. 18-19 to rehearse and perform. While the Honor Band tackled a rigorous program, the Honor Choir spent its sessions bringing two brand-new pieces to life alongside the people who wrote them: Hastings College alumni and local residents Hugo Madera ‘19 and Hannah Jensen ‘15.
“Hugo and Hannah have been incredible musical colleagues to me since I moved to Hastings, and I wanted to celebrate their artistic gifts given our shared ties with Hastings College and the vibrant musical scene around Hastings,” said Raoul Carlo “Miggi” Angangco, assistant professor of music at Hastings College, who led this year’s Honor Choir.
Note: This story originally appeared in the Hastings Tribune.
Championing living composers
Angangco said he wanted to challenge students to look beyond the sheet music, so he invited Madera and Jensen into the rehearsals. This allowed members of the choir to connect with the people behind the notes, Jensen’s “I Know…” and Madera’s “Alebrijes.”
Also featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Loch Lomond” and Ola Gjeilo’s “The Ground,” the Honor Choir program, titled “Of Creatures and Creation,” celebrated fantastical beings, natural wonders, self-determination, and the fullness of creation in harmony.
Angangco, who joined the Hastings College faculty in 2025, holds his doctorate in choral conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. A known advocate for championing the works of living composers, he sought to offer the participants of this year’s Honor Choir the opportunity to explore different languages, cultures and worldviews — all while creating something distinctly their own with the new works by Madera and Jensen.
Angangco said he believes that the chance to work directly with living composers is rare and should not be missed whenever available.
“There’s just so much more that they can impart in-person and in the moment, beyond what’s written on the physical score. It was also a great way for the students to be able to meet and interact with the wonderful human beings behind these new works,” Angangco said.