WLA Hosts Flyway WSMA Choir Concert Festival

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

WSMA Concert Festival (rules) is to large musical groups as WSMA Solo Ensemble Festival is to small musical groups.  Choirs (or bands) are judged by two or three judges assigned by the WSMA state office.  Schools who are members of WSMA must have at least one large group (choir or band) perform in a concert festival at least once every two years to remain eligible to send their kids to a Solo Ensemble festival.  So the Concert Festival is the key that unlocks the door to not only Solo Ensemble, but also to most student's musical performance education.

All the schools who participated in this year's Flyway District Concert Festival were very advanced choirs, all having prepared Class A literature (except for the two middle school choirs, who performed Middle School level literature) and all receiving a first rating.

How can every choir get a first?  Choirs compete against themselves and are scored in seven categories: tone, intonation, choral blend, diction, interpretation, technique, and presentation.  The best score you can get in each category is 1, the worst is 8.  So the best score a choir can get is a 7 (1's in all seven categories), the worst is a 56.  The range of points for a I is 7-17, II is 17.5-31, III is 31.5-45, IV is 45.5-56.  We had two judges, so their two scores were added together, divided by 2 to get the average, and that was a choir's final score.

8:00 AM WLA Traveling Choir I (8+12/2=10)

• Psalm 91, J. Scott Brubacher
• Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord, Undine S. Moore
• Lux Aurumque, Eric Whitacre 1000A211

8:30 AM Mayville HS Treble Choir I (10+15/2=12.5)

• Glorificamus Te, Eugene Butler 1010A412
• And So It Goes, Billy Joel, arr. Kirby Shaw
• Joshua Fit the Battle, Charity

9:00 AM Faith Lutheran Youth Praise I (14+19/2=16.5)

• Alleluia Canon, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sanctus, Franz Schubert 1030MS764
• Tomb is Empty, Williams, Page

9:30 AM Mayville HS Mens Choir I (13+15/2=14)

• Fergus n’ Molly, Vijay Singh 1020A212
• Prayer of the Children, Kurt Bestor, arr. Andrea S. Clouse
• Rock a My Soul, arr. Don Regier

10:00 AM BREAK

10:15 AM Mayville HS Concert Choir I (11+15/2=13)

• Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadues Mozart
• Jebula Jesu, Stephen Hatfield
• Zigeunerleben, Robert Schumann 1000AS525

10:45 AM Lomira Middle School I (12+12/2=12)

• Skye Boat Song, arr. Thomas Rogers
• Sanctus, Franz Schubert, arr. David Weck 1030MS764
• Witness, Roger Emerson

11:15 AM Lomira High School Concert Choir I (14+12/2=13)

• Stand Together, Jim Papoulis
• Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1000AS526
• Fiddler Man, John Rutter

11:45 AM JUDGE’S LUNCH

12:45 PM KMLHS Women's Choir I (16+16/2=16)

• Lord, Hear My Prayer, Heinrich Schütz
• Praise the King!, Andrea Oppermann
• La Lluvia, Stephen Hatfield 1010A211

1:15 PM KMLHS Concert Choir I (12+16/2=14)

• Sicut Cervus, Palestrina 1000AS503
• Let Everything That Hath Breath, Ames
• Alleluia, Randall Thompson

1:45 PM WLA Traveling Choir (sharing with KML)

• Psalm 91, J. Scott Brubacher
• Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord, Undine S. Moore
• Lux Aurumque, Eric Whitacre 1000A211