Kingfisher High School’s concert choir advanced to OSSAA state competition for the seventh year in a row with its performance at the district competition March 10 on the campus of Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.

The choir earned a “superior” rating in performance, which is required to qualify for state, which will be held April 1.

Choir members also earned an “excellent” rating in sight singing, which is reading music at first sight without the help of instruments.

“They literally hear the notes in their heads and sing,” said Diann Magnus, the choral director for Kingfisher Public Schools. “They have three minutes to work on the piece and then they sing for the judge. Then they have two minutes to fix mistakes and add the words of the piece.”

On top of that, a number of other students performing in ensembles, duets or as soloists also earned “superior” ratings and will take part in yet another state competition for those categories on April 21. Soloists included Ethan

Soloists included Ethan Willimon, Stormie Shockey, Raechel Evans, Bianca Garcia and Cherith Stephenson.

Willimon’s solo was in German. Katie Beecher earned an “excellent” on her French solo and Olivia Reyes earned an “excellent” on her solo as well.

Ensembles earning “superiors” were:

A cappella – Beecher, Garcia, Shelbey Osterholt, Reyes, Mylene Jones, Evans, Charlie Johnson, Shockey, Cale Leck, Wayde Barrios, Willimon and Caleb Hendryx;

Mixed – Stephenson, Jayden Shaver, Beecher, Reyes, Janeth Navarro, Jones, Serenity Starr, Emily Warren, Hendryx, Damien Haynes, Ryker Long;

Women’s – Avery Stutts, Johnson, Zaylynn Lopez, Osterholt, Jones, Shockey, Stephenson, Reyes, Navarro, Warren, Beecher;

Trio – Beecher, Garcia, Stephenson;

Duet – Shockey and Lopez. Kingfisher Middle School

Kingfisher Middle School students also performed at the district competition.

The choir earned “Outstanding Achievement” by rating “superior” in both performance and sight singing.

The KMS a cappella ensemble of Amya Reyes, Elizabeth Pickle, Julianna Austin, Sydney Toepfer, Rylee Hamil, Caroline Swafford, Indy Barker, Kya Bolner, Paislee Osterholt, Ariana Alvarez, Isabella Gomez and Amber Beagle picked up a “superior” rating.

The mixed ensemble of Emma McLean, Haylee Crum, T.J. Washington, Austin, Toepfer, Hamil, Hunter Miller, Brittan Bollenbach, Raegan Johnston, Indy Barker, Beagle and Kya Bolner also earned a “superior” mark.

Gomez, Osterholt, Toepfer and Crum earned “superior” for their quartet performance as did the duet of Austin and Bolner.

Soloists garnering “superior” marks were Reyes, Swafford, Barker, Austin, Bolner and Washington.

The quartet of Barker, Beagle, Pickle and Emma McLean and soloists Pickle, Gomez and Hamil earned “excellent” ratings for their performances.

“I am very proud of all of the students. They have spent hours getting ready to stand before judges and being critiqued,” Magnus said.

“They are judged on how they sing vowels and consonants – which help one to be in tune – phrasing, dynamics and interpretation of the text through performance.”

Magnus said the competitions are beneficial on multiple fronts.

“Vocal contests are very detailed and help students to analyze what they are doing and learn to use critique to achieve excellence and they learn how to achieve these standards together as a team,” she said. Magnus added she had the

Magnus added she had the help this year of accompanist Carrie Edwards, a part-time assistant with the choral program, who helps prepare students for the events.

“Because of her help, the choir was able to add more solos and ensembles to OSSAA district,” Magnus said.

Together, they helped high school and middle school students make the trip back home from Alva with high marks.

“KHS is going to state, KMS earned ‘Outstanding Achievement,’ we earned a total of six ‘excellent’ ratings and 20 ‘superior’ ratings between the two choirs,” Magnus said. “Ratings aren’t every

“Ratings aren’t everything, but they do help others see the results of hard work in a program that strives for excellence.”

See Page 1 for related photo of state-bound KHS choir.