Chorus Students Prepare for All State
by Audrey Baudek
On Thursday night, choir students from all over the county journeyed to Viera High School in anticipation of the year's first All County rehearsal. Amongst these students were 16 students from Mel High’s choral program, some of whom had never participated in an event like this before. “I had never done All County before, but my friends recommended I should try it so I decided to sign up. They said it would be a really cool experience and I would learn a lot,” said senior, Izzy McLaughlin. During this experience, students worked with chorus teachers from multiple different programs, who all had different things to offer them as they learned new music. “I learned the songs we’ll be singing for the performance in January, but I also learned some great, new breathing techniques from other teachers. I’m excited to be able to learn more when we have our rehearsals next semester,” said McLaughlin.
London Davis was another senior who decided to participate in All County Chorus for the first time this year. “I wanted the chance to try everything before I graduated, and I didn’t want to leave having missed out on something or having regretted not doing an event like this,” said Davis. “This was a different setting for me, not just because of the different people but how it was up to us to follow along with the music and know our solfege. It was challenging because we were learning new music as we went.” At this rehearsal, students were split up by voice section to learn their parts for each of the five songs in the selection chosen by a guest clinician who would be at the following rehearsals in January. “I am most looking forward to combining our pieces with everyone at the later rehearsals, but I also enjoyed meeting new faces and making new friends from around the county,” said Davis.
Meeting new people from other programs at schools around the county was the highlight of senior, Hayden Mies, who had participated in the All County High School Choir for the last three years. “I wanted to do All County again because I love being able to be part of a bigger choir made up of kids from different schools who love singing as much as I do,” said Mies. “All County is unique because it’s one of the only events where we get the opportunity to really bond with other kids from other programs doing similar activities to us and compare our experiences. It’s also nice if you have friends in choir programs at other schools because it’s a great opportunity to see them, especially if they’re in the same section as you.” In sectionals, a teacher from a different school would work on one of the five pieces in the selection with the students, isolating parts and helping to get through it. “The rehearsal was very helpful. It taught me which parts of the music I needed to pay the most attention to and what I would need the most practice on,” said Mies. “I can’t wait for our rehearsals in January!”
Photo credit to Brian Rorer