Three NHS students chosen for all-state choir

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Three Newcastle High School boys were selected for the Wyoming All-State Choir, after taking on a unique audition and performance experience due to COVID-19 restrictions. 
According to instructor Jan Ellis, auditioning online began in the fall for senior Xavin Goodrich, junior Avery Chick and junior Duncan Cox. Both Goodrich and Cox were selected for the honor last year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event did not take place. 
The audition videos for each of the young men were screened in a way similar to the in-person auditions that were used in previous years, with emphasis on intonation, rhythms, tone quality and accuracy. 
“They set the bar higher and lower at the same time, compared to last year. There was less to focus on, but you had to be really good at it,” Cox said, noting that while students had multiple opportunities to record their audition pieces, higher margins were set for those selected. 
“Once we were accepted, we participated in an eight-hour Zoom call with the clinician,” Chick said.
During the rehearsal with clinician Angela Kasper, the candidates sang in a room by themselves on mute with the video call muted. The three young men spent their President’s Day holiday at the school preparing to record their performance pieces. 
“It was super cool, and she was able to share tips and tricks to help us with our vocal performance,” Chick said, and then laughed. “Duncan and I were able to sing to each other because we are in the same group, but Xavin had to sing to a wall all day.” 
After rehearsal with the clinicians, the trio were sent click tracks, a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, to put on their headphones when they recorded their performances. 
“Then they had to sing with these tracks and record both a video and audio track to submit,” Ellis said. “These tracks are being sent to a company that will make sure all submissions fit and will send us a finished product.” 
This product, she said, will be a video of all the compiled videos and audio recorded by the 180 students selected across Wyoming for the honor. 
“This is, by far, more work than any all-stater has had to do in the past. I certainly had the most responsible, hard-working students to do this project,” Ellis said. “They never complained nor hesitated to do what I asked.” 
Overall, Cox and Chick said, they thought their dedication to the performance was similar to what it would have been otherwise, although they said there were hurdles to jump. 
“I am proud of all of us because of the hurdles. … They made us all better singers. We had to overcome a lot to accomplish this,” Chick said. 
The singers said that using a video and audio recording process with little experience was perhaps their biggest challenge. Ellis said that they were fortunate to have the skills of school district technology director Beau Gregory and his intern Skylar Jenkins, who were willing to help create
the material. 
“It was very beneficial for our singing careers despite the differences from previous years. I felt we had to look for different ways to make ourselves sound good on video compared to in person,” Chick said. “Everyone had the same opportunities to re-record your auditions and program pieces so you had to make yourself stand out. Mrs. Ellis was very helpful through the process, and I think we benefited greatly from the experience.”
“I feel like I hit some milestones. Sight reading was a crutch for me last year, so I didn’t have to focus as much on the excerpts and scales as I did this year,” Cox said. “I have a greater grasp on how to find key and keep it after this experience.”