Once a year, Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Choir travels across the state to the Tampa Convention Center in order to perform at the Chorale All-State, which is an exclusive, competitive three-day event. During this event, students can perform with other choirs all over Florida. In order to qualify for Chorale All-State, students need to attend two other events first, the first of which is a written and sightreading test and the second is a vocal test. Then, if the students pass, they can advance to All-State.
Activities at All-State
At All-State, students demonstrate competency in several areas. For example, students need to know solfege, which is oral pitch recognition; intervals; chorale vocabulary; how to sight read, which also includes knowing all key signatures; and overall good vocal technique. The students who rehearsed and participated at the All-State event itself were Mariana Garzon, Caden Kastler, Christopher Zarn, Rachel Rameau, Adrian Moncada, Gabriel Seda, Kelly Induisi, Joseph Strong, and Emiliano Sierra. For the first and second day, All-State students attended rehearsals in three-hour blocks. Then, on the final day, all chorale students throughout Florida, which totals nearly three hundred singers, performed together.
How Would a Student Enter the Chorale All-State?
In order for a student to perform in All-State, they have to be a part of the STA Chorale program, which is run by Mrs. Drozdovitch. In this program, students learn solfege, singing and sight-reading. Students who desire to develop their skills further can take the All-State Choir summer classes, developing knowledge in preparation for auditions. The students are tested several times to gauge their capabilities and see their strengths and weaknesses. Later in the year, the first test takes place; intervals and chorale vocabulary in a written format. If the students pass, they move on to the sight-reading and solfege part of the test, where a judge scores them. The second evaluation for All-State is the Vocal portion. To prepare for this, students need to know a total of seven songs, three of which they will be asked to demonstrate. After passing these two events, students may then travel to Tampa, FL, to perform at All-State.
STA’s Chorale continues to maximize their abilities and confidence throughout various competitions. Most importantly, members have learned and improved their skills. Caden Kastler, one of the chorale members who attended All-State, stated that “My director taught us a lot of dynamics and how we emphasize words in a song.” As the new season approaches, choir members are working to excel further through upcoming competitions and improve overall performance.
