After spending many hours dedicating themselves towards practicing in and out of class, over the first weekend of March, Chorale and Symphonic Choir attended the District level Ohio Music Education Association’s (OMEA) Large Group contest at Big Walnut High School on Friday the 6th, while Concert and Symphonic Band attended on Saturday the 7th.
Each group received a 1, or Superior rating, qualifying them for States. Ratings are based from numbers 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest.
This was following the Concert Orchestra, Symphony and Hayes Players, who performed on Friday, February 27 at Granville High School. Both Symphony Orchestra and Hayes Players received Superior ratings, while Concert received a 2, or an Excellent rating.
For the OMEA Large Group contest, each group prepares three songs prior to the event, including one required song from the OMEA list. The required pieces are separated by whichever class the group is competing within, with class AA being the most advanced and class C being the least. Ensembles at Hayes all compete in different classes based on their skill level.
“I love that the OMEA provides this opportunity for young singers to go, I think it’s important for [them] to be evaluated by people who are not [their] directors,” choir director Tracy Cinereski said.
After performing their prepared pieces for judges and a small audience, ensembles then sight-read a piece for a different judge. The sight-reading portion of the contest allows groups to demonstrate how quickly they’re able to read music and recover from mistakes.
Friday for the Hayes choir program started with a performance from Chorale of their three prepared pieces, “Hold Me, Rock Me,” “Hlonolofatsa” and “Johnny Said No.” This was followed by Symphonic choir, who sang “Dies Irae,” “Fire” and “Hallelujah Amen.” Each group received a superior rating on their performance.
The pieces for both Chorale and Symphonic choir were very carefully selected by Cinereski.
“I think the key is just trying to find pieces that are gonna hit and my students are gonna get into, and I like the variety that we have this year,” Cinereski said.
Additionally, after putting a lot of effort and dedication throughout the year into improving their ability to quickly read music, each group earned a superior rating in sight-reading as well.
“Seeing how we’ve gone from [the beginning of the year] with sight reading and some tough things … I think it’s really cool to see the progress,” assistant choir director Abby Jenkins said.
The opportunity to be judged by music professionals at the OMEA contest is beneficial for students. They may hear some similar things to what their directors have said but also things that they’ve never heard before, allowing them to have a better understanding of areas that they can improve.
“Contest is important because we get feedback for whatever we do next and it helps us grow as musicians and as an ensemble,” Symphonic Band student Penelope Stacey said.
Overall, Large Group contest provides students with not only the chance to grow as musicians, but also the chance to create stronger bonds. A lot of stress comes from the event but for many students, the results are worth it.
“[I look forward to] the camaraderie that comes with doing something difficult or scary,” Jenkins said. “[I like watching them make] it through and then seeing everyone’s connection afterwards about how they’ve all overcome this thing that they were nervous for,” Jenkins said.
