Choir excelled at the Regional Choir Auditions on Oct. 27.  With 21 students making regional choir and 13 advancing as Pre-Area Candidates, the men’s choir had twice as many advancing to Pre-Area as any other school in the region.

While there were many qualifiers for the Region and Pre-Area choirs, the numbers have been whittled down with 13 students qualifying to move forward to the Pre-Area auditions and of these, only half are moving forward to the Area auditions. Only one student, freshman Matthew James, has qualified to sing at the All-State choir auditions on Jan. 9.

“It can be an extremely helpful and fun experience to be a part of,” James said. “Hopefully, I will push myself during the holiday break so I can manage to beat my competition, especially only a year into high school.”

A benefit of being in All-State choir is that students get to attend and perform at the TMEA convention, a week long event where students sing and watch other talented artists perform. Colleges will also attend the convention and be giving out scholarships.

“I am looking forward to listening to music that shows what high school students are capable of and being able to participate with peers who have worked just as hard as me,” James said.

After qualifying at the Region and Pre-Area levels, sophomore Reid Harris did not pass beyond Pre-Area.

“Winning in something like this is extremely exciting. I put forth so much practice it was crazy,” Harris said. “It totally helped me advance, but it was very hectic with my schedule. My favorite part of the competition was being able to show how I had been committed to the songs”

Winter is a busy season for choir, in addition to these competitions, there are many performances by the choir during the holiday season. They performed in the Celebrities holiday show on Dec 3, sang at the tree lighting at the trail of lights on Dec. 4  and their winter concert on Dec. 14. The choir will also be taking a field trip to San Antonio on Dec. 18th to go carolling on the Riverwalk.

“Our holiday show this year was called ‘Canticle of Winter’,” senior Emerson Kendall said. “It’s a lot of fun to sing holiday songs with a choir, this year my favorite holiday song we performed was ‘Do you Hear What I Hear’ which is sung in an all male acappella style.”

The women’s choir will also be performing at the holiday show, something senior Jackie Farias is excited to do.

“I was really excited about the winter concert because the women’s choir  worked on some beautiful pieces,” Farias said. “They’re very challenging and I was excited to sing those breathtaking songs. My favorite song is ‘Tundra’.”