This past Wednesday, April 26, Ascension’s choir students attended the LMEA State Choir Festival at First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Several high schools from Louisiana attended this event and were graded on their performances. Each choir from the participating schools are assessed individually, rather than competing against each other. Every group is graded in two categories: stage and sight-reading. For the stage category, the students perform three songs that they have previously rehearsed. Ascension’s choir performed “Set Me as a Seal”, “The Wind Shakes the Barley”, and “Bonse Aba.” In the sight-reading category, the students read and perform a piece of music that they have not seen before. In both categories, the student’s performances are graded on a scale from 1-5, 1 being the best.

This year, the choir scored a 1 in stage, which is considered superior, and a 2 in sight-reading, which is a wonderful step up from last year’s scores of a 2 in stage and a 3 in sight-reading. All of the songs that the choir performed were from memory, and two of these were acapella. As they waited for their scores, the students were able to watch other schools perform. Once they received their scores and left the competition, the students spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall, celebrating their victory. Choir student Alexis Cortez, says, “We improved so much from last year to this year and, overall, I feel that it’s because we are more experienced.” A big congratulations to Ascension’s very own choir for doing so well in state! Good job all!