Choir on key- to success

Singers prepare for statewide contest Tuesday

Kaitlin George, Guest Contributor
March 28, 2022

For choir students, it’s all about preparing for UIL which is taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“UIL Concert and sight reading is a statewide evaluation of music programs to determine the level of skill and achievement in the group,” choir teacher Toni Ugolini said. “It is an opportunity to receive feedback from expert judges and get a good idea of where we are as an ensemble.”

Students will start off by performing the songs that they have already prepared, then they will move on to reading music that they are unfamiliar with.

“For the concert portion, we perform three pieces of various styles that we get to prepare ahead of time,” Ugolini said. “For the sight-reading portion we are given a piece of music we have never seen before and 6 minutes to look it over before we perform.”

For freshman Olivia Chandhok, UIL is a great opportunity for all choir students to improve their singing skills.

“UIL can help grow singing abilities by bringing more time, attention, and focus into our singing and it creates a sort of an urge to do better and work harder with the music to perfect it,” Chandhok said.

Ugolini also believes that the experience can strengthen the choir as a whole.

“One of my favorite parts of UIL is that it is professionally recorded at a much higher quality than for a normal concert,” Ugolini said. “Hearing ourselves back at that level on our best work gives us a chance to celebrate the things we are doing really well and also hear opportunities for improvement.”

Missing class isn’t a highlight for freshman Haley Hicks, but she is ready to sing in front of judges. .

“I’m not super excited about missing school because I might have to make up work but it’s okay because it will be worth it,” freshman Haley Hicks said. “I’m excited to showcase what we have worked on for a while. Hopefully we will get a one, which is the best rating, because we have worked really hard.