Six L-S singers head to District Chorus
Singing is a skill that many crave and few possess. The District Chorus competition helps to unearth those diamonds in the rough. Separate from County Chorus, which is run by a different organization, District Chorus features 100 of the best singers -- sophomores, juniors, and seniors -- from an eight-county area. Eight students from L-S auditioned.
This year, the singers had a few months to learn two songs: "Os Justi" and "Regina Coelli". One was accompanied, and one was a capella. For the a capella, the music gradually fades away until the only sound is the singer's voice. They are only required to sing a portion of the song, but they do not know what part they will be singing.
Once they got there, the players were assigned a number ranging from one to three hundred. There were about one hundred sopranos and close to ninety altos. Once they got their assigned numbers, they were also given the section of the songs that they were going to perform.Then, each numbered section was called, and they walked into the rooms.
There, a line of three judges waited to hear them sing, facing away from the performers. These were blind auditions, so the judges, choir directors from other schools, based their selection solely on the sound of their voices. After they sing the first selection for the three critics, the contestants move to the next room, where they will perform the second selection for three different judges. Each singer is judged on melodic accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, intonation, musicality, and tone quality. A person can receive a score of 0-10 in each category, and a perfect score is 300 points. The performers are ranked according to their final amount of points.
After the auditions, the hopeful singers were gathered together with players of the same voice part to get the potentially good or bad news. Only twenty five people from each part could make it in, so only the best of the best can pass through. Finally, the scores were announced.
"That was definitely the most exciting part," Sarah Johnson, a winning Soprano I, gushes.
Johnson ranked twelfth in her division, with Jessie Reynolds not far behind in the 16th slot. As for altos, Mackenzie Miller placed third for Alto I, making her the highest ranking individual from L-S. Lauren Bliss also placed well in the Alto I slot, securing herself a spot at 14th. Samantha Ingram came very close to Mackenzie's score, earning eighth place as an Alto II. And last but not least, Al Williams, the youngest L-S student that auditioned, earned an impressive fourteenth place as a Tenor II.
The road does not stop here. The students that were accepted into districts will now head to the district festival in Hempfield at the end of January, where they will perform in a concert as well as audition for regionals. At the regional level, only 15 singers are selected, so it is a much more difficult audition. The judges can pick any of the six or seven songs that the District Chorus members have to learn for the concert for them to sing in their audition.
Congratulations again to Jessie Reynolds, Al Williams, Sam Ingram, Sarah Johnson, Mackenzie Miller, and Lauren Bliss. Hopefully, in Jessie Reynolds' words, "...they all lived happily ever after."
--Lillian Murr, LSNews.org School News Editor
Edited: BP
Related: Miller leads L-S contingent to County Chorus
