On April 14, over 30 choir students, including myself, competed in a solo and small ensemble festival. The festival was sponsored by KSHSSA at Blue Valley High. Students from across the Blue Valley District’s choir, band, and strings department competed in musical performances and received ratings I through V. I being, ‘outstanding,’ and V being, ‘ineffective.’
I took the pleasure in performing with my fellow concert choir members and obtained a III rating. Not what we had hoped for, but it was better than getting a IV or even worse, V rating.
In my honest opinion I think they all sang beautifully and deserved the I ratings they received at regional and state festivals. One of my classmates, Freshman Paige Dvorak, a concert choir and choralette student, was thrilled about the choralettes’ rating.
“I was very happy with the choralettes rating because we really had been working hard on our piece of music,” Dvorak said.
I couldn’t have been more proud of Kendall Miller because the choralettes (and her) really worked hard to receive I ratings at regionals and state. Miller, also a freshman, concert choir and choralette student, was thrilled with her ratings. Miller said she was grateful for the kind judges’ constructive criticism and choices of giving them a I.
“I was so excited and felt so blessed to be singing with my choirs!”
I thought the choraliers were good, but some singers were off pitch, while other singers’ voices stuck out more to me… and that’s not a good thing when performing in a festival.Sophomore Bailee MacDonald, a choralier singer, performed in the festival. MacDonald said she was satisfied with her II rating at regionals and enjoyed watching the expression of the judge while her choir (and her) sang.
“After the performance the judge said, ‘would you like to sing it again?’” MacDonald said. “And she wasn’t being sarcastic.”
Without our choir director, Susan Scheibler, none of the choirs and soloists would have received a I rating because she is the person who brought the choirs so far. All the choirs success goes to Mrs. Schiebler’s great teaching. This year’s festivals was a big transition for her because she was allowing for the first time since the school has opened, chorale, concert choir, and choralier singers compete in the festival. Scheibler said last year she let only chamber members compete in the festival.
“It’s so cool to see how much they really are able to do together… they just listen and sing up,” Scheibler said.
The festival contained 15 chamber singers who received a I rating at regionals and another I rating at state on April 28. Individually, chamber men and women small ensembles received I ratings at regionals and state. 19 concert choir singers received a rating of III at regionals. Concert choir girls, known as the, ‘Blue Valley Southwest choralettes,’ received I ratings at regionals and state. 9 choralier singers received a rating of II and 26 actual soloists received ratings no more than IV.