The young singers who took a chance on an innovative new model for a diverse high school choir and became the founding members of the VocalEssence Singers of This Age (VESOTA) are graduating! Four years ago, they chose the name, they set the tone, they created a welcoming culture that drew younger singers in…and now they are ready to share their light with the larger world.

Here are the graduating seniors, including four founding members, and their future plans:

Isaiah Bates, founding member, has graduated from Creative Arts High School. He plans on taking a gap year before heading to Los Angeles to pursue music/acting/performance.

Stephon Marcus, founding member, has graduated from Johnson High School. He’ll be taking a gap year before heading to Thailand to study, and is hoping to follow in GPS’s footsteps and become a music director.

Angelica Marko, founding member, has graduated from Edison High School. She’s planning on attending community college and then transferring to Augsburg to study business.

Claire Olson has graduated from Como Park High School and will be attending the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

Josh Ramirez graduated in 2020, but we didn’t have to say goodbye to him until this year. He’s studying at MCTC and pursuing music independently.

Jade Shionoya, founding member, has graduated from St Louis Park High School and is headed to the University of Iowa to study creative writing.

Austin Vang has graduated from Washington Magnet High School, and is going to Dunwoody College of Technology to study industrial engineering.

Soliyana Woldu has graduated from South High School and will be studying business administration at Augsburg University.

VESOTA singers, we appreciate you and everything you’ve contributed, and wish you all the best!