The two week delay is over and for choir students that means competing in the UIL Solo Contest on Saturday, their first live contest since 2020. 

“Last year it was all virtual, which I didn’t like because it takes away that element of singing in front of a judge and getting live feedback,” choir director Toni Ugolini said. “This year we are back to normal; masks are still going to be a part of it though, which makes it hard to get emotion across, but it’s a huge step forward from where we were last year.”

Originally scheduled for Feb. 5, the competition was postponed due to the winter storm that swept through Texas. 

“I think it’s a little unfortunate,” junior Annika Shetty said. “I was very excited to just kind of get it over with because I was very nervous about it, but I’m also really appreciative of the extra time that it has given me to practice.”

The contest involves choir students having to perform at least one selection a cappella in front of judges who rank the performance with scores from lowest (five) to highest (one). 

“All the people that are judges are choir teachers, and so they want everyone to grow and be better,” Ugolini said. “Anytime we go and push ourselves out of our comfort zone, we become better and therefore our choir becomes better.”

Always looking for ways in which she can improve in her singing, Shetty looks at Saturday’s contest as a way to get better.  

“I think the experience is going to help me learn how to perform and memorize my songs more accurately since you can’t use any music,” Shetty said. “I think it will also give me a good opportunity to learn how to perform as a solo singer compared to a choir singer because that’s what we are more used to.”