Marcus Kunkle, a student at Lehighton Area High School, was selected to participate in the American Choral Directors Association Men's All-Eastern Honor Choir.

ACDA holds divisional conferences and honor choirs every other year. Students are selected into four honor choirs through auditions. Kunkle submitted a compact disc in June to the audition committee and was notified recently of his selection.He was selected from over 900 applicants in 11 eastern states and is the second Lehighton student in recent years to be selected to the All Eastern Honor Choir.Pennsylvania is the host state for the next conference, so he will represent the Commonwealth in Philadelphia Feb. 10-13, 2010. Last year, Kunkle was selected to take part in the ACDA Pennsylvania State Men's Honor Choir in Hershey.There will be a women's, men's, children's and jazz honor choir with this year's conference and festival. The conference holds clinics, reading sessions, special interest sessions and performances, all focused on the choral arts.Kunkle participates in chorus and Music Express Show Choir, under the direction of David Perkins.He began his study of music and theater at the age of 7, and has been taking voice lessons for the last seven years with Joel Sager at The Studio in Lansford, which is owned by Sager and his wife, Janet. He was also a member of the Singing Boys of Pennsylvania for two years under the direction of Dr. Bernard Schade.When Kunkle was 8 years old, he had his first lead in "Oliver!" at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. He has performed in high school plays and is a member of the Zion Opera Workshop theater group in Lehighton. This past season, he performed in Zion's "South Pacific."Kunkle is in the top 10 percent of his class and last year earned a Spanish Excellence Award. He enjoys playing a variety of music on the guitar, and has also been a member of the punk rock band, "Understated."Kunkle enjoys camping, fishing, and other water sports, and has helped out at the Northeast Pa. Kayak School and Jim Thorpe River Adventures.He enjoys traveling, having visited St. Martin this past spring. He will be traveling to Walt Disney World Resort in December for a performance in the Candlelight Processional with the Lehighton Concert Choir. He will also be performing in Downtown Disney with the rest of the members of Music Express.Kunkle resides in Mahoning Township with his parents, Jim and Trudy, and his pet cats and ferrets.Last year, 10 students from Lehighton Area School District were selected to the ACDA State Honor Choir programs.