“It was a beautiful, glorious, delicious experience. Singing with skilled musicians from all over California and hearing their various backgrounds was an truly eye-opening experience,” said senior Adrian Chan.
In the past weekend, 11 choral students from Carlmont went down to Pasadena, California for All State Honor Choir.
All State is a large, festival-like event hosted by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in every state across the country. They have up to three choirs in each state, and the choirs are directed by members of the ACDA who conduct choirs at high levels.
The students were selected to go to All State based on their scores from their audition for Regional Honor Choir, which they attended in the fall.
Over the weekend, the students took part in singing in one of three choirs at California’s All State: Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, and Mixed Choir.
“I’m crestfallen at the thought of not being able to be part of this honor choir ever again, since I’m a senior. But at the same time, I’m very thankful to have participated at all in these choir festivities,” said Chan.
They practiced with their choirs for two full days before their performance at the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena.
The Men’s Choir, directed by Dr. Galen Darrough, performed an adaptation of “Bring Him Home” from the musical “Les Miserables.”
Women’s choir, directed by Dr. Lynne Gackle, performed a Spanish Folk piece called “El Vito.” The group also performed a latin piece called “O Aula Nobilis,” which was accompanied by a piano duet, three trumpets, some timpani, and a tambourine.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I loved being able to meet a bunch of new people, and it was amazing being able to learn all those new pieces of music and work with Dr. Gackle. I hope to be able to do it for the next three years,” said freshman Marjan Moshiri.
Mixed Choir, directed by Dr. Sharon Paul, performed a piece with Indian origin, called “Balleilakka,” and was accompanied by percussion instruments.
“My director didn’t give us one-on-one advice and helped us with intonation, dynamics, and vowels,” said Chan.
