After receiving superior scores at the District Choral Festival, three choirs advanced to the state level on Friday, April 29. The state festival was held at Morgan State University in Baltimore, many choirs from all around Maryland coming together to show what they had been preparing for the past few months. The three choirs from the school that went to Festival were Chamber Choir, Eagles in Harmony, and oNPoint, the men’s choir.

For a choir to be invited to the State Festival, they had to have received a superior score at District Festival which means that all three judges gave the choir a score of one for their ensemble pieces, and the sight-reading adjudicator gave them a one for their sight-reading performance. That alone is a difficult task, so choirs needed to be ready for even more if they advanced to the state level.

As if this alone was not enough, some students had to endure even more. Students are allowed to double in choirs if their schedule allows, meaning that they can partake in multiple different choirs. For students like Justin Mines (’16), this meant performing with multiple choirs in State Festival. Mines, who is in both Chamber Choir and oNPoint, explained what doubling in choirs is like. “It’s hard work, especially the quick changes. But this is something I love to do so it’s never a bother. It also gives me the chance to bond with people of different ages and backgrounds doing something we all love.” On how States differs from District festival, Mines elaborated, “The grading is more intense, it’s tougher than District but the choirs are very talented.” When asked about how he felt about his choirs’ performances, Mines stated, “I feel like we left it all out there on the stage and we had fun while doing it.”

At State Festival, choirs are expected to perform the same three pieces they performed at District Festival, but of course, they’ll have to amp it up to reach a higher level. One way that Chamber Choir achieved this was by adding a choreographed dance break and scarves to their song, “Balleilakka.” The students must also be prepared to face a more advanced sight-reading assignment after their performance.

Of course, the three choirs were more than up to the task. Chamber Choir scored two ones and a two for their vocal performance and a one for their sight-reading, adding up to an overall one. Eagles in Harmony scored straight twos on their vocal performance and a one on their sight-reading, their overall score coming out to a two. Lastly, oNPoint scored three twos on their vocal performance and a three on their sight-reading, giving them an overall two.