Highly skilled students hit high notes in All State.

This year there are two all state choir groups available for students in all grades.

Freshman All State is a choir consisting of the top most vocally advanced students in grades 7-9. Held in the last weekend of October, by the Kentucky Choral Directors association, this program helps to bring together vocalists from all across the state.

Requiring a recorded audition, Carrie Gary says “It’s quite the process because most of them have never sung before or have done anything like this.” The recording consists of the student singing a scale (do re me fa so la ti do) as well as the song My Country Tis of Thee. The singer must also sing eight measures of another piece of music. Gary said, “This year it was a hard song in latin that was very very tricky”.

The recordings for this year’s freshman had  to be submitted last Friday, September 9th. And in a couple of weeks the students will be informed if they were accepted to attend. When the day comes, they will take off on the Friday before the weekend and drive to Bowling Green, Kentucky where All State is held this year.  

Kentucky Music Educators All State (KMEA) is another All State choir group for  students in grades 10-12. This year the program takes place in Louisville Kentucky, during the month of February. Though the location is so close it is required for the singers to stay there overnight. This is because they’ll be there singing and working on things from dusk to dawn.

After the practicing and working is all done, on the last day there will be a concert at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. The different groups that will preform are a SSA (all soprano and alto), TTBB (tenor, base) that is generally men, and then there is a SATB (mixed choir).

Having at least two students make it each year since we started going, Gary thinks that it is very beneficial for the singer because, “You’re singing with the best people in the state, It’s always real hard…But it’s neat because you go and you’re not spending time learning pitches, because you already know all of that. You’re spending time making things beautiful and working on the actual beautification of the music.”

This year the auditions are in Anderson County, and have been there ever since Gary started taking students to the program ten years ago. The lady who does them now is retiring, Therefore next year they will be held in Oldham county.

Die Nachtigall, the audition piece for this year is a German arrangement that tells a beautiful story about a nightingale that sings old dear songs. Gary says that she “loves it! I love the german, I love that you get to have expression with it. Because generally they’ve been this kind of very stark, thin, Renaissance madrigals. But this one you can really emote and feel.” As far as preparation, Gary feels as though “This is the best prepared that we’ve ever been, though with that being said all the schools across the state are probably just as prepared as we are.”
When auditioning it is more than important to work on skills like sight reading, and musicality. Gary said, “Sight reading will make the difference between you getting accepted or not.” Sight reading is the process of getting a piece of music, looking at it, and being able to read and comprehend the notes.