Kingfisher’s Isabella Gomez and Caleb Hendryx performed recently with the “best of the best” among junior high choir students in Oklahoma.

The two made their way through a strenuous audition process to earn a spot in the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association Junior High All-State Choir.

They participated Jan. 6-8 in the final round of the process as they gathered with others who were selected at the Oklahoma City Convention Center.

Students worked with Patrick K. Freer, professor of music at Georgia State University and former visiting professor at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria).

Their concert was performed last Saturday at the convention center.

The process to get to Saturday began in late October 2021.

The first round of auditions was held Oct. 31 at Enid High School.

Twenty Kingfisher students took part in the auditions, which were open to grades 7-9.

“Students are given three songs to learn for the auditions,” explained Diann Magnus, Kingfisher choir director. “The day before auditions, the students are told which two of the three songs they will sing and what measures.”

The audition consists of students singing approximately one-minute cuts from each song.

“It is a blind audition where students sing in front of a screen so students and judges cannot see each other,” Magnus said.

Kingfisher students competed against other schools in the northwest quadrant. There were also auditions in the southwest, northeast and southeast parts of the state.

The top 30 scores in each voice part (soprano 1, soprano 2, alto 1, alto 2, tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1, bass 2) in each quadrant advanced to the second round.

Kingfisher had seven students advance: Hendryx and fellow freshman Bianca Garcia; eighth graders Gomez and Elizabeth Pickle; and seventh graders Julianna Austin, Kya Bolner and Brittan Bollenbach.

“They scored in the top 30 of their voice part in our quad, which includes students from Enid, Edmond, Elk City and other larger and smaller schools,” Magnus said.

On Nov. 16, students competed with the top 30 in each voice part from all four quadrants in Round 2 of the auditions.

Gomez and Hendryx ranked in the top 28 to earn their place in the All-State choir.

Still, their spot wasn’t secure until last weekend’s performance.

Once a student earns a place in the choir, they are given three additional pieces to learn before they meet in January.

“They then participate in Round 3, which can disqualify students who do not know the additional music,” Magnus said.

Once Round 3 was completed, rehearsals with Freer commenced for the final performance.