My L

"Mom and dad, I made it! I made it to the all region choir!" "I was ranked 9th!" "Wow, congratulations!" I replied. She then handed me a packet which contains instructions, music, and a letter.

It says in the letter that the Arizona All-State system is recognized as one of the finest in the country. Lexie is happy! She has every reason to feel that way and I am proud of her. Though along with the prestige and honor, comes the responsibility of learning brand new music, which she has to learn ahead of time before the festival. This is to ensure a high quality choral experience, focusing on artistic communication, and not have to think or worry of just singing the notes and words correctly.

To get into all Region Choir, each student is required to sing solo in front of the judges. They are judged according to pitch, musical detail, vocal technique, vocal tone and color, diction, and other factors such as stage presence, style, communication, etc. She scored 54 out 60. Not bad, eh? Moreover, each student is required to do sight-reading, which is the toughest part of the whole audition unless the students have prior piano knowledge. Fortunately, she had had piano lessons in the past so it gave her a slight edge in the competition.

February 19-20 is All Region Choir performance. There are three things that they need to bring: sharpened pencil, a bottle of water, and a "focused" self. And an attire suitable for worship.