Published: October 01, 2009 11:45 am      

AHS choir members vie for slot on all-region choir

Eight members of Alvarado High School’s honor chorale vied for a place in the prestigious all-region choir during the first round of all-state choir auditions on Saturday at Granbury High School.

Seniors Sara Fischer and Jacob Howington; juniors Jonathan Arndt, Nick Ladd, Miguel Ramirez, and Mary Smith; sophomore Destany Place; and freshman Paige Woodard will now prepare for the next contest.

The second round of all-state choir tryouts, which also determines the membership of the all-region and all-district choirs, is set for Oct. 31 at Stephenville High School.

In the second round, each section has 40 members. The top 12 singers in each section claim the title of all-region and advance to the third round. The next eight in each section compose the all-district choir.

The Indians competed against almost 600 singers from Burleson, Cleburne, The Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, Granbury, North Crowley and Weatherford. 

Choir directors from across the region heard groups or zones of 40 to 50 singers, then selected the top 20 singers in that zone.

Each zone’s 21st highest chair was chosen as an alternate.

Several AHS singers earned rankings in the top 10 of their zones at the competition: Mary Smith, first chair first soprano; Sara Fischer, third chair second soprano; Jonathan Arndt, sixth chair first tenor; and Nick Ladd, 10th chair second bass.  

Another four Indians, Bethany Barcuch, Elizabeth Faulkner, Hannah Graves and Jacob Hanson were ranked from 24th to 28th in their zones.

AHS choir directors Edward Smith and Fran Leddy said they were impressed by the maturity and poise displayed by each one of the 14 Indian singers who competed.

“We are proud to be associated with this amazing group of students,” Smith said.  “Of course, we are disappointed that some of our students just barely missed the cut — especially those who are seniors. At the same time, we are excited and pleased for those advancing to the next round.  We believe each one of them has a legitimate shot to make the all-region choir.”

Smith said the all-state choir audition music is made up of some of the most difficult selections the students will sing.

“Every year these pieces are incredibly challenging,” he said. “In order to meet that challenge, the students must become better singers. All of our kids who competed at this first round are stronger singers today than they were on the day that they first picked up this music. The very act of mastering these songs makes them all better singers.”