Eight Kingfisher High School and three Kingfisher Junior High vocal students earned their spots recently on a prestigious honor choir.

Named to the Western Oklahoma Choral Directors Association Regional Honor Choir from KHS were Bianca Garcia, TJ Washington, Ethan McLean, Thaddaeus Stephenson, Gisselle Ponce, Haven Branson, Kynslee Nance and Shilo Willingham.

Junior high students earning a spot were Jackson Garrett, Brailyn Schroeder and Evelyn Martin.

They were part of a large contingent who auditioned Sept. 18 at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.

Garcia, Branson, Ponce and Nance were selected for the third year in a row and received a medal for their accomplishment.

The students are taught by Diann Magnus, director of KPS choral activities.

Of the 310 junior high students (grades 7-9) who auditioned, only 176 were selected for the honor choir.

There were 350 high school students (grades 1012), just 195 were chosen.

High school students audition by learning four pieces assigned by Oklahoma Music Educators Association and junior high students learn three pieces assigned by Oklahoma Choral Directors Association.

Students sing cuts from two of the three songs for junior high and three of the four cuts for high school.

They do not know which songs and where the cuts will be until the day before the audition. Students earn points for vocal quality, pitches, rhythm, intonation, diction, dynamics and phrasing.

The lucky few performed Oct. 21 at the WOCDA Honor Choir Festival at the Elk City Pioneer Performing Arts Center & Kelli O’Hara Theater.

The high school choir performed “Wichita Ghost Song,” a new piece honoring Native American tribes and their languages, as well as “Venite, Gaudete!” by Adrian Peacock, “Hold Fast to Dreams” by Joel Thompson, “Tshela Moya/Ke nna yo Morena” arranged by Michael Barrett and “The Music of Stillness” by Elaine Hagenberg.

The junior high choir performed “Heartbeat” by Kyle Pederson, “High Flight” by Laura Farnell, “Christus Factus Est” by Antonio Juanas ed. Raul Dominguez and “Why Not?” by Nathan Howe.

Prior to performing, honor choir students rehearsed all pieces during the day with esteemed Oklahoma clinicians in preparation for All-State auditions which will be held Nov. 2 at the University of Central Oklahoma for high school and Nov. 19 at Rose State College for junior high.

This year the junior high clinician was Myles Simpson who teaches choir at Alcott Middle School in Norman and Tracey Gregg-Boothby from Rose State College worked with high school students.