Barrett Adix, 11, plans on auditioning for the Texas All-State Choir.

Auditions for the well-known Texas All-State Choir began Sept. 15. This choir, known as one of the most elite singing ensembles in the state. Around this time each year, the choir holds auditions for all school choirs in the state of Texas.

“I don’t know how far I’ll go, round two is going to be difficult this year,” junior, Barrett Adix said. “They have chosen some really hard music, but I’m hoping to make it past round two.”

Every year, a set of judges for the choirs select a certain number of participants to join each choir. The judges base this off of what chair the participants made. For instance in the first round the judges might take the participants that made first through twenty-fifth chair, which would be the students who made it to the second round. The judges rank the chairs using a system of points (50 being the best, 1 being the worst) and they place the competitors in chairs by score, first being the best.

“It’s pretty cool making it past round one, in round one they take out all the mediocre people who don’t really know their music,” Barrett Adix said. “So it’s nice going against people who really care and know their music.”

The audition process starts in September and ends on the first Saturday of January. It begins with students that come from all over the state to compete against other singers to fill one of the spots in either the Texas All-State Mixed Choir, Texas All-State Treble Choir, or the Texas All-State Men’s Choir.

“I get really nervous in the audition room because I want this,” Adix said. “I get nervous since I’m in front of the judges who decide if I go on.”

The participants start learning and preparing for the judges with the release of the music. Only a small fraction of participants actually make it into one of the choirs. Participants put in a lot of time and effort to making sure that they can stand out when auditioning for the judges.

“The most important thing is to practice the way you want to perform and then perform the way you practiced,” new choir teacher Mr. Powell said.

Each round, singers perform their two pieces and then the contestant sight-reads, like the round before. In total, it consists of four rounds. The performer then gets judged based on five categories that equal 10 points each:

• Tone Quality / Technique: Tone, breath support, vowels, appropriate style
• Intonation: Singing in tune
• Accuracy: Accuracy of notes and rhythms
• Diction: Text clarity, accurate pronunciation
• Musicality: Dynamics, sensitivity to text, articulation to convey appropriate meaning

“First and foremost you become a better singer/musician individually, so you have to rely more on yourself,” Mr. Powell said.

Even if performers don’t plan on making music for their career, it can still be something of importance. If the singer makes it into one of the choirs they learn how to work with a group of people that they have never met before. They also learn certain social skills that otherwise might not have been learned until college. Plus singers get to work with college professors who show them a little glimpse of college expectations.

“You get the chance to meet other people and develop friendships,” Mr. Powell said.