By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
All three Otsego High School choirs—Chamber Singers, Bella Voce and Concert Choir—participated in a district choral festival on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
And for the first time in at least four years, all three received 1 ratings, which is the highest rating possible.
OHS choir director Meredith Lincoln described the experience as “quite surreal.”
“When I picked up the scores, I got goosebumps and tears in my eyes immediately,” she said. “These students truly become my kids and watching them grow and receive such excellent scores is such a big accomplishment for us all.
“All of the students worked extremely hard, and it showed on the stage.”
The performances turned in by her choirs also provided Lincoln with a sense of validation.
“If I am being completely honest, it also was the reassurance that I am doing things right here at Otsego and making an impact,” said Lincoln, herself an OHS graduate. “I am so proud to teach at Otsego, and proud of every single student I have.”
Based on their 1 ratings, all three OHS choirs qualified for the State Choral Festival at Hope College in May.
“These students truly had the odds stacked against them with six snow days and an entire week off for mid-winter break leading up to festival,” Lincoln said. “They practiced hard in and out of the classroom, and it showed on stage.”
The students’ preparation continued right up to the start of the district festival, as many of them used the bus ride for a final practice session.
“What stood out most to me is how much the students cared about doing well,” Lincoln said. “On the way (to the festival), multiple of the choirs were running their songs on their own. When we were waiting to warm-up, they were all studying their music and practicing quietly with one another. The students truly carried out Otsego’s motto of ‘Expect Excellence.’
“The other thing that really stood out to me is seeing the students interact with each other. The choirs have really become a family who truly enjoy being with each other. Seeing them develop relationships with each other and how much they care is rewarding.”
The district festival was broken into 20-minute increments for warm-up, time on stage performing and sight-reading.
On stage, each choir performed two pieces for a panel of four judges.
The selections performed by the OHS choirs were: Concert Choir—”The Arrow and the Song” by Lon Beery and “J’entends Le Moulin” arranged by Emily Crocker; Bella Voce—”Dona Nobis Pacem” arranged by Patrick M. Liebergen and Canadian Boat Song arranged by Mark Sirett; and Chamber Singers—”I am in Need of Music” by David L. Brunner and Musica Gloria by Mark Hayes.
“Three of (the judges) give us scores and comments, while the last one just takes notes and then comes onto the stage and gives us a clinic,” Lincoln said. “After our clinic, we headed straight to the sight-reading room.”
For sight-reading, the students have 20 minutes to sightread through five examples that progressively get harder.
“When we were done with sight-reading, it was time to get our scores,” Lincoln said.
At the State Choral Festival, the OHS choirs will perform three songs, with one of them being a cappella. Each choir will perform the songs they sang at District Choral Festival and then will be learning the new a cappella piece.
No sight-reading is done at the state festival.
