Diann Magnus wanted to challenge her choir students this year.

They responded in a big way. The Kingfisher High School choir has qualified for the state competition after receiving a trio of Superior ratings March 9 in the district contest.

It was the end of a busy, yet very successful, nine-day stretch for the Kingfisher choral department.

It began March 1 with the district solo and ensemble competition for high school students.

Three days later, it was the junior high students’ turn to compete with their solos and ensemble selections.

Then came the finale in which both the high school and junior high choirs competed in the OSSAA district at Deer Creek High School in Edmond.

And Magnus didn’t take the easy route along the way.

“I chose more challenging music for both choirs this year,” said the district’s choral director.

OSSAA choir contests consist of two pieces, one of which must be a cappella. The other may be accompanied by music.

The high school sang “Long Ago (In the Bleak Midwinter)” as the accompanied piece and the a cappella selection was “Dindirin,” a 15th century Spanish folk song about a man who is asking a nightingale to tell his girlfriend he is already married.

The “dindirin” is the bird singing the message to the girlfriend.

“Both were more difficult than what we’ve done in the past,” said Magnus, noting this was the first year for KHS to compete with songs in 4-part (soprano, alto, tenor and bass).

“Dindirin” was sung in Spanish and the music was quick with meter changes throughout, Magnus said.

“The ending added a soprano split that proved to be tricky,” she added.

Although “Long Ago” was an English piece, it didn’t prove any easier.

“It had tight harmonies and parts where one-fourth of the music was only men singing and another one-fourth was only women singing,” Magnus said.

Adding to the difficulty? “We had three strict judges,” she said.

The top score is Superior, or a 1. Excellent is a 2, but to advance to state, a choir must receive an average of a 1 from the three judges, meaning a pair of 2’s would dash that hope.

“I was concerned that we wouldn’t make Superior (1),” Magnus admitted.

“I thought we might average Excellent (2).”

She was wrong. All three judges rated the performance a 1.

The group then followed that up by earning another Superior in sight reading, which involves working as a group to learn a piece a cappella with only the tonal center given.

“I challenged them that I can give them the tools, but they have to employ the tools to be successful,” Magnus said.

The tools were employed and not just for the high school.

The junior high choir sang “Lo Yissa Goy” as its accompanied piece.“It’s a Hebrew song celebrating peace and the end of war,” noted Magnus. The a cappella piece was “Vanitas, Vanitatum,” a Latin piece based on Ecclesiastes 1:2.“It is a canon that requires greater independence between the sections than many pieces,” Magnus said.

“They had to keep the rhythms aligned and not go sharp or flat.”

The KJH also earned straight Superior ratings as well as another in the sight singing portion.

Junior high choirs don’t advance to state.

Members will receive an “Outstanding Achievement” for their accomplishments.

The high school choir will perform the same selections at the OSSAA state contest March 30 at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.

No matter how well they perform there, Magnus said she already has extra reason to be proud of her students.

It had to do with the students’ behavior as they sat in the audience and watched their junior high schoolmates.

The judges were watching.

“Two of the three judges commented on how respectful and well-behaved they were as audience members,” Magnus said. “They made a first impression before they even walked onto the stage to perform. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

But she’ll continue to push them through this last week of “Music in Our Schools Month” that culminates at state. Magnus already knows how they’ll respond.

“Now I know I can continue to challenge them and they can handle it,” she said. “It is satisfying to know that you can perform more difficult music and still score high.

“My students are awesome. I would put them up against any choir.”