Choral Program Earns High Ratings at State Assessment

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Concert Choir members earned Excellent ratings at the State Assessment.

Autumn Johnson, Staff Writer

On April 29, the UHS chorus department attended their State Assessment. “When the choir students go to District, and earn a Superior there, they will then head to the State Assessment. The State Assessment is not a competition; you don’t compete against another choir. Instead, students are able to get better at what they do. After they are adjudicated by three judges, they are provided feedback on how to improve their singing, then the choir is even given a clinician to work with,” said the Choral Director, Yelitza Greene.

Both the UHS Men’s Choral and Concert Choir both earned the rating of Excellent. UHS Cantoras earned the rating of superior, achieving the highest rating of the rubric. The Cantoras have been scheduled to be featured on next year’s set of CD’s, and will be honored at the Summer Convention of the Florida Vocal Association.

Overall, the choir students enjoyed their time, as they were able to gain valuable experience and spend time with their fellow peers. “I would describe my experience at the State Assessment, as very chaotic, but in a good way. We performed at a church, so whenever we sang, the sounds would bounce off the walls. There was a lot going on, but it really just influenced us to do better. Hearing our voices made the choir more hyped, because we sounded really good. It was also really fascinating to see other magnet schools perform,” said junior Brianna Whigham.

Because of transportation issues, the Freshman Treble Ensemble and Women’s Glee arrived late and were not able to perform. “I was really upset that we weren’t able to perform. We put a lot into this performance, and it was quite unfortunate we weren’t able to show off our hard work,” said freshman Kelaia Rivera-Velez.