The MHS choir is wrapping up yet another busy beginning of the year! Over Halloween weekend, eight MHS singers attended the All-State Choir and Orchestra held in Rapid City. Each high school in South Dakota can bring a certain number of quartets (a group of four singers with different voice parts) based on their school size. Because of this, MHS was allowed to bring two quartets.
To get into the All-State Choir, Mrs. Richards holds auditions. The audition process includes singing a portion of a song, a musical scale, and a patriotic song in front of Mrs. Richards and a hired judge. Singers were expected to prepare for the audition on their own. Out of everyone that auditioned, the judges chose two main quartets and a quartet of alternates in case something happens.
This year, quartet one included Evelyn Graham, Makira Wrage, Enoch Martin, and Elijah Olsen. The members of quartet two were Renae Hass, Abbey Allen, Spencer Reverts, and Micah Nelson. The alternate quartet members were Madora Mott, Ella Peterreins, Maggie Engebretson, and Emmett Brown. The quartets had around a month to learn and memorize all their music before heading to Rapid City. They left on Thursday the 28th, practiced all day Friday and Saturday, and performed that Saturday night. The Monday afterward (November 1st), the whole MHS choir performed their fall concert. It was special because that was the first time they performed in the auditorium in two years.
There are more exciting things to come! On November 23rd, Mrs. Richards will hold another set of auditions for choir members interested in MadVoices, the vocal jazz group for MHS. The number of group members is almost always sixteen, but could be less depending on the blend and strength of the singers. This group practices one time a week for two hours to prepare for various jazz competitions. This means members must practice on their own to solidify their part.
In other choir news, two freshmen in the MHS choir were selected to participate in the South Dakota Junior Honor Choir. Those two freshmen were Micah Nelson and Illyana Collins. They had a similar audition process, except Mrs. Richards wasn’t a judge. There isn’t a set number of people from each school that get to go, and that makes this more difficult to get into, so congratulations to those two!
To be involved in these extra choir events, you must be in the MHS choir. If you are at all interested in anything choir-related, I highly encourage you to join! The choir has an exciting group of people and a positive environment everyone can enjoy.