State Honors Chorus
Every year, the State Middle School Honors Chorus is held in November, performing at the North Carolina Music Educator's In-Service Conference. This chorus provides an opportunity for the very best middle school singers from across the state to come together and work with a nationally acclaimed choral conductor. This year the Chorus will be led by Dr. Jonathan Palant from University of Texas at Dallas. The Honors Chorus will take place on November 11-12 in Winston-Salem. The final concert on Nov. 12 will be held in the Stevens Center at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Honors Chorus auditions are held in three regions across the state: West, Central, and East. We are in the East Region and our auditions will be held in Goldsboro on Sept. 27. Over 1,000 students audition each year for this 160 member choir. Each student auditions in front of a single judge in a closed audition. The audition piece this year is Sanctus in d minor (BWV 239) by J. S. Bach. Students who audition are also required to sight-sing a short melodic exercise. The state only allows a school to take 10% of its total student choral population to audition. For Ligon, the number is usually 12-13 students. Full attention to the three steps below is essential for any student who is interested in a Ligon audition slot:
1. All Honors Chorus and Vocal Ensemble students will learn the audition piece and practice sight-reading during class.
2. Students will download the audition piece from www.ncmea.net to practice on their own. Once you reach the website go to Sections, Middle School Choral, Student Events, Honors Chorus, and finally Audition Materials.
3. Ligon auditions for the state audition will be held after school on Monday, September 11 from 2:30-4:30 pm.
If a student passes the Ligon Audition, he/she will be eligible to participate at the State Audition on Sept 27, and will bring a $15 audition fee (due by Sept. 14) made payable to Ligon Arts Boosters. Before auditioning, check your family calendar to make sure that you can participate for all the required dates (Sept. 11, Sept. 27, and Nov. 11-12).
All-County Chorus
All-County Chorus will be held on February 9-10 and Martin Middle will be the host school. Again, this is a mass choir event with an outstanding clinician, but within our county. Each school is given an allotted number of students to bring. I will have more information about this year's allotment number by the end of September. Students who earn the honor of participating are those who lead by example in class and who show mastery in their singing and sight reading. I also give preference to students who auditioned for State Honors Chorus but did not make the actual group.
District MPA (Music Performance Adjudication)
District MPAs give individual choirs an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned before a panel of adjudicators. Each choir is graded on musical concepts such as intonation, balance and blend, pitch and rhythmic accuracy, diction, breath support, musical interpretation, and stage deportment. Each choir earns a numerical score and a rating for their performance. This event could be equated to an EOG for music students in our state. The East #1 MPA will take place during the month of March (date TBA) at Campbell University. Students from Chatham, Durham, Harnett, Johnston, Orange, Pitt, and Wake counties will be performing. The Ligon Choirs involved in this event will be Honors Chorus, Treble Chorus, and Vocal Ensemble.