Sunnyslope’s Choir and Vocal Ensemble programs triumphed in the Worldstrides Heritage Festival over spring break in Anaheim, California, according to Choir Teacher Tamara Krause.
“Sunnyslope’s Concert Choir and Vocal Ensemble performed together and received a gold rating and 2nd place in the concert choir category,” Krause said.
The competition rated Concert Choir and Vocal Ensemble separately — both groups did exceptional, and their combined scores named Sunnyslope the top of the national competition.
“The scores of both groups combined gave us the Sweepstakes trophy. [Vocal Ensemble] received the Adjudicator’s Trophy for scores averaging over 95 and also won Outstanding Choir as the group with the highest scores across all categories. That was a really big win for us” Krause said.
Slope choirs have a reputation of excellence on campus; students appreciate them at their concerts and at assemblies.
Students have won many regional and statewide honors, but this time they were up against schools from around the country, and Slope carried their performance through.
“Vocal Ensemble performed on their own in the chamber choir… category and received a gold rating and 1st place,” Krause said.
The overwhelming success of Slope’s Vocal Ensemble was a surprise both to Krause and the students involved.
“I’m not going to lie: I did not expect to get as high of a score as we did with the festival choir,” Senior Blythe Turley said.
Senior Natalie Fox also felt the pressure as the performance got closer.
“At the start, I was slightly nervous,” Fox said.
Despite the initial nerves, Turley said it was “nothing I hadn’t dealt with before.”
While it was nerve-wracking, they all came together and showed that teamwork plays a very important role in success.
“We did that, we got the highest score out of any band, choir, or orchestra and we did that on our own. No one else helped us. It was our choir… that got that 99,” Fox said.
Fox also made it a point to address Krause’s involvement and success.
“My favorite reaction of the night was when we received the top performance of the night award because everyone was bouncing up and down, chanting Mrs. Krause’s name,” Turley said.
The outstanding scores that Choir received deserved lots of celebration and they did just that, ending their triumphant night at Disneyland.
