Members of the choir recently performed at Regionals for solo and ensemble and several students advanced to the next level of competition. Junior Amelia Hill, sophomore Scarlett Hogge, senior Briana James, freshman Liberty Trupke, senior Brooke Meadows, freshman Shalee Perkins and sophomore Levi Strother have advanced to perform their individual solo pieces at the state competition.
The choir competition preparation for solo and ensemble entails rigorous rehearsals of 3-5 pieces that are picked and approved by the Texas Music Educators Association.
“On contest day, students are randomly assigned a number and when their number is called, they go into a room for a blind audition with judges that are vocal music teachers or professionals,” choir director Stephanie Teague said.
Students then perform their selected pieces in front of a judge from memory. The judge will give them written critiques based off of their performances and students that earn a rating of superior, or one are then given the opportunity to perform their solo at the State contest in May.
After performing their pieces, students who rank high enough in the first competition move on to the next round in which they sing different excerpts of the songs they originally learned and performed.
“It honestly depends on the judge and the contest,” Teague said when asked what the judges look for. “Memorization, diction, and dynamics are big factors in both the All-Region and Solo contests, but each judge looks for specific aspects that they want to hear from each performer.”
The rehearsal process for solo and ensemble is similar to any regular concert put on by the choir.
“It’s the same as my daily routine for any performance,” Teague said. “We warm up, do some ear training, sight-reading and then work on specific sections of the songs that we want to polish.”
State competition for solo and ensemble will take place during Memorial Day weekend in May in Pflugerville, Austin. Any advancing students will travel with the band students that also qualified in their specific competition and stay overnight for a fun and practice-filled night.
“The next morning, they compete with the same song they sang at our local contest, receive critiques, ratings and medals, then head home,” Teague said.
Teague said her favorite part of the competitions is when students receive their ranking and scores.
“Sometimes they are super excited and sometimes they are disappointed, but they always learn something from the experience,” she said.
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