Bailey Docter – Talented Black Hills High School Junior Headed to State Choir Championships

Photo courtesy Bailey Docter
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By Gale Hemmann

russell dentistry logoBailey Docter is one to watch. As a junior at Black Hills High School, she already has a strong start to her career as a singer.  She will be competing as a soloist in the mezzo-soprano category at the State Choir Championships in Ellensburg on April 25.

I met with Bailey Docter and her mother, Marie Docter at the Tumwater Starbucks. Fashionably dressed and with a big smile, Bailey immediately radiates a dynamic presence. As we talked, I could tell that Bailey has star quality: composed and articulate, she told me about her passion for singing and her future goals. As her resume shows, she has accomplished an incredible amount for a teen (or anyone, for that matter). This will be her second time singing at State, and she has participated in numerous competitions and given many performances around the area and beyond. The classically-trained singer also performs with the Olympia Youth Chorus (OYC), where she has been a featured soloist. She was the lead in the Black Hills High School musical this year. Bailey is also adept at many styles of music, from pop to jazz to Broadway. You name it, this girl can do it.

Photo courtesy Bailey Docter Music
Photo courtesy Bailey Docter Music

Docter has already released an album, Just Sing. She recorded the album when she was just fifteen years old (studio time was a Christmas gift from her parents). She feels that she has already grown since her debut album; however, she cites favorite tracks as “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “Smoke and Mirrors.”  You can listen to samples and purchase the CD (or individual tracks) on her website. You can also “like” her page, Bailey Docter Music, on Facebook. If you want to see her in action, you can check out some of her YouTube videos – Bailey and her mom shared with me that a favorite is Bailey singing “Kalinka” with the Black Hills High School Chamber Choir at their Winter Program. She is hoping to produce another album before she graduates from high school. Docter has also been learning mixing and editing, which she’s excited to add to her repertoire of skills as a musician.

Docter is truly a student of the arts. Her mother says Bailey would hum along to music before she was speaking; she wrote her first song at age six. In addition to voice, Bailey also plays several instruments (drum, piano and guitar), dances at Debbi’s Dance, Etc!, acts, and does some modeling work. She also writes (she’s working on a novel series) and loves the visual arts (she paints and recently restored a mural at her school).

Though a typical week is packed with activities for this ambitious teen, she also finds some time to serve in youth leadership roles at her church and to have “down time” with her friends and just hang out (she enjoys gaming and at one point wanted to start a band with her friends). She and her family are currently looking at colleges with top-notch music programs. Bailey’s dream career is to sing and perform on Broadway.

Yet for all of her accomplishments and wisdom beyond her years, Docter is refreshingly down-to-earth, friendly, and quick to support the accomplishments of her peers.

She thanks her mentors and teachers along the way. Her family has been incredibly supportive since they realized Bailey’s true musical talent in middle school. (Bailey comes from a musical family; both brothers are singers, and her dad is an accomplished guitarist who now makes guitars.) In addition to Kathleen Alviar, choral music director at Black Hills, Docter also cites OYC’s Cindy Dinsmore as a huge influence, and her vocal teacher, Denise Daverso.

Photo courtesy Bailey Docter
Photo courtesy Bailey Docter

A second Black Hills student, Jacob Anderson, is also making waves.  He was selected as “first alternate” to compete in the Baritone category at State this year. Kathleen Alviar notes that she is very proud of his accomplishments, and Bailey, a good friend of Anderson’s, says he is an amazing singer.

Docter notes what an honor it is to be part of the Black Hills High School Music Choir, and to attend a school that has such a rich arts program. This is a big year for the Black Hills High School choirs: for the first time ever, in addition to sending soloists/duets, the entire Chamber Choir is headed to the state competition. Black Hills has three choirs: Chamber Choir (which Docter sings with), Con Brio (a treble choir), and the Concert Choir, and all three groups earned a score of “superior” at Regionals this year.

The dynamic Alviar is the person behind the group’s accomplishments. Over email, she shared with me that the school has been working hard to build their choir program over the past several years, and that going to State represents a huge achievement for them. Students are quick to point out her supportive role in the choirs’ development. Bailey notes that Alviar is great because she is very positive and dedicated to her students’ success, and that she gives each student a chance to perform. Alviar has an accomplished history in teaching music; she holds a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting, and served as the Tumwater School District Music Coordinator for several years. Alviar teaches music at Tumwater Middle School in the mornings, in addition to teaching at Black Hills.

So, ThurstonTalk readers, let’s root for the Black Hills Chamber Choir at State and for Bailey Docter as a soloist. Bailey and her peers are definitely rising youth stars in Thurston County.

 

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