After competing against hundreds of high school singers throughout Connecticut, Jessica Garcia ‘19, was selected as one of two hundred singers to sing in the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) All-State Honors Choir. Jess recently spent three days in Hartford rehearsing with the other talented singers that culminated in a concert.
To make it into the All-State Choir, singers must go through two challenging rounds of auditions. In the first competition, the Regionals, Jess was required to sing a classical Italian piece, sight read a song and also sing scales. She was required to do something similar in the State Competition. Singers are scored for each piece, and only those singers with high scores make it into the All-State Choir. Jess scored ten points higher than the cut-off point and successfully earned her spot in the All-State Choir. Moreover, Jess also earned one of the scarce solo pieces in the final concert.
“This is a very interesting experience because it exposed me to different genres of music that I don’t normally sing,” Jess said. “For instance, we sang a Finnish polka, classical German and Italian pieces, and folk songs. It’s eye opening!”
Jess said singing in All-State choir really taught her a lot. “It is very different singing with 200 people and creating a uniform sound. It taught me how to balance voices, rely on other people and train my ears.”
Mrs. Armstrong, who was an All-State Honors Choir performer in her high school, coached Jess to prepare for all the auditions. “All State is comprised of the best and brightest Connecticut has to offer, and Jess definitely shines as one of the brightest stars here at Canterbury,” she said. “All-State gives Jess a chance to perform with larger ensembles and guest conductors from all around the country, make music with new friends, and build memories to last a lifetime.”
Jess will compete in a national audition in May. If accepted, Jess will spend four days in Walt Disney World singing with other top ranking student singers from around the country. We are very excited for Jess’s musical achievement and we wish her good luck in her following auditions.
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