Every year, Wylie’s advanced choir students go through a complex series of auditions in hopes to place in the prestigious all region choir.
“Region is a process of auditions with different music and sight reading each round. It starts at the district then continues to bigger groups of people, with more difficult songs each round. The end goal is all-state choir, consisting of the best choral singers in the state,” Emily Walker (10) said.
Following the first round of tryouts, only a select few students from various Wylie High choirs secured a spot in the second round of auditions. While these students were satisfied with the results from the first round of auditions, the process was stressful and deliberately difficult.
“The auditions are very nerve wracking, and very strict. You get the audition cuts almost right before the audition, and you cannot practice them after they’re run through as a group, or you will be disqualified. But, the hardest part was waiting to find out I made the next round,” Walker said.
Along with being difficult in its own right, the transition from Region in a junior high setting to a high school setting proved to be startling even to the freshmen who advanced to the second round.
“Region [in high school] is definitely more stressful. No question, I’m freaking out,” Ashley Judy (9) said.
Despite the intricate process, students advancing to the next round are hopeful that the benefits of participating in auditions will outweigh the hardships.
“Making all-region can look good on college resumes, especially if you make one of the higher level choirs. I plan to continue region all throughout highschool. It’s a very rewarding process, and it’s worth all the work everyone puts in,” Walker said.