Exciting moments are coming out of La Porte High School left and right! The Beginning/Intermediate Women's Choir went to Concord High School on April 21, 2016 for the ISSMA Organizational Contest and brought home the gold.
“Our advanced choirs, Chorale and Treble Chorale, always go to the Group I, State Qualifying contest which takes place next week but those are the only choirs that have ever gone to contest before from LPHS,” Thomas Coe, Choral Director at La Porte High School said. “We decided last year that we would take the Beginning/Intermediate choir to a non-state qualifying event. We entered them in Group III, not realizing that many high schools take their beginning groups in a lower level, Group IV.”
For those who are unaware, as the ISSMA levels run from 5 (the lowest) to 1 (the highest). Each level has different requirements that the performers must meet including sight reading as well as singing from a designated list of songs that are tailored to each group. The songs get tougher and the judges get stricter as the levels count down to one.
Coe chose two songs from the group III list and picked a third one that the choir would sing a capella. “The choir worked extremely hard on all three pieces and on learning to sight read rhythmic, melodic, and two-part harmonic exercises. This was a really big step as we have never done anything like this in class or in competition before this year. They struggled at first but we continually made progress every day. They did a fantastic job at the contest! I could tell they were extremely nervous but they pulled through with flying colors! I'm so excited for their success and for what it will help them achieve in future years in the choir program and beyond high school.”
The choir’s decorum did not go unnoticed either. Directors from other high schools gave nods to the group for their disciple and training. The students were all at the school on time, dressed and looking their best.
“The judges commented on their attention to musical detail and nuance in their performance and they were very encouraging,” Coe said. “The more I think about it, the more excited I get! I'm extremely pleased with their achievement!”
Coe also wished to give a shout out to Jane DeVries, the resident “choir mom” at La Porte High School. Coe said, “I appreciate her and her excellent help teaching, accompanying, and outfitting the choir. [Mrs. DeVries’] help is very valuable!”