By LEO SHANE III
Gannett News Services

COLUMBUS -- Students in this year's All-Ohio Youth Choir learned a lot about hard work, showmanship, positive thinking and friendship.

And they've had a few music lessons too.

"My love of music got me here," said Heath Grogro, a senior at Coshocton High School. "But the best part is the friends -- there are a lot of friends of mine here."

Singing, the 17-year-old said, is just a small part of what the choir is really about.

The 200-person choir, made up of high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from around the state, has been singing for 16 straight days now, helping provide entertainment at the Ohio State Fair.

But choir director Charles Snyder said the three-week experience also shows teens what they are capable of and what their real talents are.

"Our schedule is so rigorous that most of them don't have time to worry about looking good or putting on an image," he said. "So they get all the superficial stuff dropped. I'm always excited to see them enjoying each others' company, without cell phones and computers and distractions."

The ensemble's schedule has included at least five concerts almost every day, after only four days of practice before the fair's grand opening.

That has meant long hours and little rest to get everyone's pitches perfect for the audience. Students even stay at fairground dorms to keep their minds and voices focused on the work at hand.

Snyder, who has conducted the group for the last 10 years, said he is consistently amazed that the teens are up for the challenge.

"I've found that people tend to respond to expectations," Snyder said. "And even if the expectations are high, they usually hit it."

So that has meant early morning rehearsals, multiple concerts in the afternoon sun, late-night planning sessions and a melodic choir the director is proud of.

"It's really hard to go home afterwards," Snyder said. "The positive spirit and work ethics of all of (the students) is inspirational."

This year marks the 40th birthday of the chorus, and about half of the chorus members return each year for an encore. Grogro is in his second year with the group and also a member of the chorus' traveling branch, which will perform around the state in the coming months.

Officials estimate upwards of 1 million people will hear their harmonies at some point over the 16-day fair. For 15-year-old Haile Addison, a sophomore from Marion, that makes the hard work worthwhile.

"It does get exhausting, but we get to sing for so many people and get to make them smile," she said. "That's why we sing."

The choir is scheduled to sing 18 more times before end of the fair this weekend. The singers' last two performances will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, at the fairgrounds' Central Park and a 2 p.m. concert in Rhodes Auditorium.

Originally published Thursday, August 15, 2002, at http://www.coshoctontribune.com/news/stories/20020815/topstories/436899.html