ENSEMBLE: Poly’s Chamber Singers place third in their singing competition in Seattle, Washington.
By Natalie Apostol, Staff Writer
In early April, most Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) students anticipated spring break and a temporary getaway from their studies. But as break quickly approached, Chamber Singers, Poly’s elite, audition-only choir, were eager to board their flight to Seattle, Washington for their singing competition after several months of preparation. When they performed on April 8, 2016, the senior-heavy singing group earned a Gold rating, which correlates to a score in the mid-90s out of 100, and a third place finish.
Their knowledge of the music and ability to understand the complexity of certain pieces set this group apart from other ensembles. “We are different than other groups because […] some choirs are so focused on sounding perfect and are extremely technical that they lose the emotion and feeling behind their pieces. I think our choir is different than others because when we sing, we are unified; because of this, we can adapt to sudden changes and recover from our mistakes,” Brooke McCann (11) expressed.
Chamber Singers began their preparation for the competition three months prior in January. “We knew that the music we were going to attempt to sing at the festival would be on par with college- level repertoire. That being said, we immediately got to work at the beginning of the second semester with a choir retreat to spend a day getting familiar with the music,” Jorge Carreon (12) explained. While at the retreat, the group memorized songs on solfège, a vocal exercise using “sol-fa” syllables, and then contributed their own elements of style and flare to the pieces.
Poly choir teacher, Mrs. Kristen Walton, guided the group to overcome barriers and taught them to perform with confidence. By beginning their preparation in January and putting in countless hours of practice, Mrs. Walton and her group were able to take third place in Seattle.
“They are some of the most amazing students on this campus and work so hard to achieve the goals they set as a group. This group represents students from all over campus with many different backgrounds,” Mrs. Walton expressed. “They have a real understanding of the fact that what they do is a collective effort and that they are creating something that will never be recreated the exact same way again,” she continued.
This year’s ensemble made Poly history with their Seattle achievement and the ensemble will continue to thrive and deliver stellar performances next school year.