The College Conservatory Music (CCM) Chorale is credited as one of the best choral programs in the U.S., decorated with “Best Choral Performance Grammy” and “Best Instrumental Composition” according to UC’s website. CCM has a roster of notable alumni such as Donald Nally, a Grammy winning conductor; Kathleen Battle, a five-time Grammy winning soprano singer; and Richard Sparks, the director of choral activities at the University of Music in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
East 2025 graduate Evan Frayer was part of multiple choirs throughout all four years of high school. He now attends UC and was accepted into the CCM Chorale. The majority of CCM members are music majors, however, Frayer made the cut as an architectural engineering major. This is out of the ordinary for a non-music major to be accepted into the elite CCM program. Frayer’s current course load includes around 20 credit hours, with engineering classes and choir, which is a full load.
Frayer has had a long history of music through his life with his mother, Becky Frayer.
“Evan has grown up being around music,” Becky told Spark. “Like Evan, I sang in choir in high school, and I sang in college.”
Despite being surrounded by music all his life, Evan says his love for music really began to bloom during his middle school year in choir. Evan accredited this burst of passion in his middle school years to his choir teacher, Nicole Fink.
“Mrs. Fink was able to foster that love for music. She was able to develop my natural singing voice,” Evan told Spark. “You don’t start out super good right away, and she showed me that.”
Transitioning from middle school to high school, Evan found instruction from East choir director, Becky Huddilston. He credits a large portion of his learned talent to Huddilston’s education in music. Huddilston told Spark, “My broad musical skills allow me to be a lifelong learner, which is what creative people yearn for.”
Evan does not only excel in his musical prowess, he also finished top 25 of his graduating class. His extracurricular activities expanded beyond just music however, as he was also a year long swimmer for the East Swimming and Diving team.
“I even did two-a-days on certain days of the week,” said Evan, “so practice in the morning, then school, then back to the pool.”
As Evan’s high school career started to come to an end, the question of continuing his musical career began to linger. With his choice of major, choosing to continue choir would be an even larger workload than what he already had, both with academics and athletics.
As a result of his uncertainty, Evan sought guidance from Huddilston. The both of them had a long conversation about his future with music as he moved onto college.
“I have a busy schedule, but what I said to her is that I want to continue my singing career,” said Evan. “I don’t know if I have time, but I just want to know what options are out there for singing at UC.”
Evan’s infatuation for music brought about his decision to audition for the CCM Chorale at UC.
CCM Chorale recognized his past with music, and accepted him into the program as a result. Evan was a section leader in his high school choir, and now has to compete with the best of the best in this new program.
“[Chorale members] have many more years of singing under their belt than I do, and the sound that fills the space during every rehearsal is like something I’ve never heard before.”
Evan explains that being given this unique opportunity to participate in such an advanced group, has given him a wonderful experience that he will appreciate forever.
“I’m super fortunate that they let me in CCM Chorale, that the audition went well, and that I can continue singing in college,” said Evan.