The Alliance High School Choir is getting ready to start the new season! Their first competition is on November 4 in Scottsbluff and it starts at 9:40 PM. There will be two groups for AHS there, Velocity and Harmonics.
Dr. Kloch is the choir adviser and she is hoping that the group does well. The choir has been preparing for the Old West Show Choir by practicing every day for the last nine weeks. They have been learning the music for their parts, they have been memorizing the words, and also have been working on the difficult choreography in the classroom. On Tuesday, October 24 they had their concert here at the high school. Dr. Kloch stated, “The kids got to practice in front of an audience which is always good. It gives them a chance to practice on the stage, and with the big sound system. After their performance, everyone looks at the recording on the stage and we try to go over and change things before the competition.”
Dr. Kloch hopes that all the kids are excited, it is their first competition of the year so they put a lot of work into it which should give them something to be excited about. She stated, “It’s that time in the school year when everyone is kind of tired. Fall sports are slowly winding down and it’s that transition time between the first and second quarter. I know they are tired but I think they’re excited to be done with the show and finally start on the Christmas music.” Dr. Kloch is excited to go and see what the other groups have been preparing, and she is excited to show everyone what AHS has been preparing!
Dr. Kloch hopes that the choir group does awesome at the competition. Dr.Kloch stated, “The choir groups no longer have the theater program at the middle school, so their groups have gotten a little smaller the past seven years. So they don’t have 30 kids in the choir like we used to.” The choir classes used to be in the morning here at the high school and we had a show choir at the middle school but it’s not the same anymore. Dr. Kloch stated, “We can’t use the same recruiting techniques we’ve done because nothing fulfills the requirement we used to get when we had an actual theater program.” When the choir was in the morning they didn’t have to compete with things like work study, and kids wanting free periods in the afternoon. Dr. Kloch stated, “The Alliance choir groups may be smaller than everyone else but AHS has kids that work really well together this year, they are all good and strong performers. I think that this year will be awesome and I think that the AHS choir group will do a fantastic job!”
Ayvrie Waldren, a junior at AHS, is a soloist for both the Harmonics and Velocity. The choir kids are treating every rehearsal like an actual performance. They rehearse on the stage, in their dresses, and shoes so that everyone can get comfortable in their outfits. Ayvrie stated, “I have done the majority of the choreography for both of our shows this year and everyone in the choirs has done a great job at getting it down! I am so proud of everyone because they are working so hard.” Ayvrie wants everyone to know how much she appreciates them taking everything seriously. Ayvrie said, “ I cannot wait to see how we do.”
Ayvrie thinks that the group is super excited to compete on Saturday. Ayvrie stated, “ We were able to get out the “first performance jitters” at our fall concert so we are very confident going into the competition!” No matter the outcome Ayvrie will always be proud of everyone!
Ayvrie is hoping that the choir group comes home with a gold. She stated, “ With us being a smaller choir, the judges are automatically biased against us from the moment we enter the stage.” Therefore AHS choir is going to have to work extra hard for them to get an awesome score.
I hope that the AHS choir does an amazing job, and I hope that they bring back that gold medal. They will be performing on Saturday, November 4 and it will be an all-day event, so make sure you come and support them. Admission for adults is ten dollars, students five dollars, and pre-K are free!
Schedule For Old West Show Choir: Alliance
Division 3- A- 15 min.
2:00 PM Alliance High School- Velocity (women’s Group)
2:20 PM Gering High School- Harmony
2:40 PM Alliance High School- Harmonics
4:30 PM Daytime Awards
7:00- 8:45 PM Best of the Fest
9:00 PM Best of the Fest Awards
Velocity Music:
2 Be Loved arr. Jack Zaino
Solo: Desirae Prime
Underdog arr. Roger Emerson
Solo: Ayvrie Waldron
Holding Our for a Hero arr. Paul Langford
Harmonics Music:
Paint It Black arr. Anita Cracauer
Solo: Ayvrie Waldron
It’s Alright from Soul arr. Robert T Gibson
When I Grow Up from Matilda arr. Roger Emerson
Solos: Morgan LeMunyan, Matthias Benzel, Carlie Schneider, Arianna Rodriguez
Levitating arr. Mark Brymer
