Medford singers perform as part of state honors choir
Out of 1,400 high school students who auditioned for Wisconsin School Musical Association (WSMA) Honors Choir throughout Wisconsin this past year, two of those individuals were picked to represent Medford Area Senior High, this past Thursday.
Seniors Brook Meyer and Aubry Chaffee, performed in Madison on October 28, as representatives of Medford High School during the annual WSMA State Honors Choir.
The students auditioned last spring and they were accepted in late May/early June of 2021. They were issued their sheet music through the mail, and they were then able to perfect the pieces up until the performance on October 28.
Chaffee was picked to perform 8 pieces (two of which were foreign language pieces), and had to learn a different version of the Star Spangled Banner two days before the performance. As part of the Treble Choir, which is 100 all-women performers, the women are broken up into 4 groups of ranges including Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, and Alto 2. Twenty-five students per group were chosen. Chafee was picked as an Alto 2, which is a lower alto sound.
Meyer was picked to perform 7 pieces as part of the Mixed Choir, which is 100 performers, both men and women. They too were broken up into 4 groups of ranges including Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, Alto 2, Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Bass 1, and Bass 2, however the groups were much smaller.
Meyer also said, “Being there is very different than a high school class because you are with people who want to be there, they put in the work and earned their spot; they have the same drive and passion for music as myself and Aubry do.”
Throughout the practice time, students were able to work through Zoom meetings with their coaches, both as a group and as individuals. That made the preparation much easier for the students.
Chaffee also said “She was expecting it to be a train wreck because we had only performed together a handful of times, but when we got there, everyone fit together really well.”
After performing on Saturday, Meyer said “This was an incredible experience. My choir was directed by Frank Watkins who is the director of choral studies at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. The music challenged me and made me a better musician. I think my favorite part was being around so many young people that have the same level of passion for music as I do.”
Chaffee said “Joni Jensen is a professor of voice at Texas Women’s University, and she was an amazing director for the Treble Choir. State honors has been a wonderful experience, I was so glad I could take part in it this year. To sing with an all-women’s choir feels empowering, that all our voices fit so well together. I’m so happy to be representing Medford in this event.”
Director of Choral Music at Medford Area Senior High, Cassandra Jablonsky stated “I helped in getting them there, but to get accepted is a huge honor. The choirs were very different in themes but they were very exciting to watch.”
