Region Vocal Solo and Ensemble

This past Wednesday was region vocal solo and ensemble. I was rather excited for the event because 1. Orchestra didn't make it to state and 2. my violin solo didn't make it to state. The Canyon View Madrigals have never not gone to state with Mrs. Tawa, so it was expected that we would make it and go on a trip together.

We had to leave early enough in order to listen to all the chamber choirs. It was such a great experience to listen to all the different colors of good. Most of the choirs were really quiet until Cedar High sang. I wasn't expecting what they gave us.

They definately saved the best for last in the end. When it was our turn, we stood up, confident and not cocky, walked on stage looking so classy, and sang our pieces. Here is the video for you to enjoy. Ignore the sounds of another camera taking pictures, and maybe the mysterious cricket noise. El est bel et bon by Pierre Passereau is first, then El Hambo by Jaakko Mantyarvi, and finally Earth Song by Frank Ticheli.



It was definately one of our better performances, except the last cord in Earth Song; it was rather weak. Oh well, we felt good about it. The people in the audience didn't know whether to clap or cry. It took a good 3 seconds for the applause to come after Mrs. Tawa put her hands down.

Before we walked off stage, Mrs. Tawa said something about getting food and we got excited. I was really REALLY hungry, like the kind of hungry where your stomach sounds like a dinosaur. Now, I was also very hyper and it doesn't help that I was hanging out with Jessie Byers the whole time, and that made me even more hyper. As we were walking out to the bus, I put my hand on my stomach and said "Rawr!" with my fingers moving and she laughed so hard! Tyler Maxwell was holding the door for us and he asked why she was laughing, so I did the same thing to him. Then we were finally on the bus, Alison Jackson asked the same question, and the same thing happened. It was hilarious.

We went to Subway for dinner, and then had Coldstone for dessert. Yum. I got a banana-mango smoothie and it dripped all down my dress. It just made me laugh.

After we discovered that no one had a Tide-To-Go pen, we went back for the solos and ensembles. Everyone did really good. My ensemble, Come in from the Firefly Darkness is posted below.



We sang this song in middle school with JP Melchior's mom who passed away a few months later from Melanoma cancer. The song is very special to us. I think we sound pretty darn good, but it didn't just come. After our class solo and ensemble, we sat and discussed to piece in order to get dynamics in it. I had thought about the piece and found ways to connect the music to what it means to us that made the dynamics change. The day before region we performed it in class and Mrs. Tawa complimented us on our musicianship. Thank you, thank you.

After we sang, we had to wait for the results. Jessie and I spun around in circles and then laid on the floor with our eyes closed. If you don't know what that feels like, go do it. When the sheets finally came out of the room, we all rushed to Mrs. Tawa. I got our ensemble sheet first and everyone else was fighting me for it. I am proud to say that we did indeed make it to state. There was a lot of celebration, so much that the people in the auditorium had to shush us.

Madrigals got straight superiors for our set. There were six solos from our school that made it: Thomas Averett, Darren Robinson, Cameron LeFevre, McKenna Read, Jessie Byers, and Kylie Saylor. Three small ensembles also qualified: Blades of Grass (a men ensemble), Ave Maria, and Firefly Darkness. The piano solos probably have the most competition. About 50 people played, and only 8 can go to state. We were lucky enough to have two qualify: Katie Lee and Lexie Gatherum.

Congratulations everyone!