Students sing throughout the year

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Singing, the right way, takes a lot of time and practice, according to Newcastle High School choir instructor Jan Ellis. And her two students, Xavin Gallardo and Duncan Cox, who participated in the 2020 Wyoming All-State Choir, are no exception. 
Preparing for the annual cumulative event begins when school starts every year, Ellis said, noting that her singers perform and practice throughout the year. Not only do they prepare for All-State, but both young men perform the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting and other events throughout the year. 
“Auditioning for the Wyoming All-State Choir starts Sept. 1 when the material comes online for us. The students choose their voice part that is the most comfortable, and then I make them a practice recording to help when they practice at home,” Ellis said. “Most students schedule one or two lessons per week to work on the material with me, which includes two scales, a vocal warm-up, two eight-measure excerpts from the All-State music, and examples of what they might expect from the sight reading.” 
Working on the music for two months, the students perfect the music elements of the piece, according to Ellis. During the first week of November the auditions are recorded and sent to
the Wyoming Choral vice president. 
“They (the singer) needs to sing with correct breath support, vowel shapes, diction and rhythmic accuracy, as well as perfect intonation as the audition is completely a capella,” Ellis said. “Once they enter the audition room, they are given only beginning pitches and must sing each part of the audition while it is being recorded. There are no do-overs.”
The recorded auditions are then sent to screeners who listen and rank the auditions by ability before the Wyoming Choral vice president listens and chooses the 180 top auditions to be a part of the All-State Choir. 
Ellis reported that she has previously filled the VP roll and each year that individual listens to all 700-plus auditions before selecting the All-State Choir. 
“This is a very difficult audition to begin with, and only getting one chance is quite stressful. Just accomplishing the audition, whether or not chosen, is a testament to the hard-working talented musicians we have here in Newcastle,” Ellis said. “As I would be very conservative that a minimum 10 hours of rehearsal for the audition process happens with me, let alone how much is spent at home.” 
“The music is then sent to the students to practice with me and online begins so they will be prepared when they meet in January with other students to practice for two days,” Ellis said.