THE ECHO

By Amelia Humphrey // Reporter

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Advanced choir lists were set to come out today at noon. And the clock had just struck twelve. The Schoology page was now at the mercy of the anxious singer.

Auditions for the upcoming year of advanced choir take place in April. They consist of a recitation of “America, the Beautiful,” a scale, a sightreading sample, and a choreography workshop for the show choir hopefuls. Every student wishing to be in the advanced choirs—Allegros, Attraction, Chamber Singers, and Accents—sings for the two directors, Mrs. Trigg and Mr. Stainbrook. And sooner or later, the lists will be released sorting the singers into the six choirs. Mrs. Trigg and Mr. Stainbrook have to hear over a hundred students every year. The decisions are complex and not made lightly.

Naturally, students speculate as to how they make said decisions. Many, especially those who have already spent some time in high school choir, have an idea.

Senior Sydney Johnson, currently dance captain of the all-girls show choir Attraction, says that she believes “a lot of it is what your past choir teachers have said about you, if you make good impressions on them. Your middle school teachers, I mean, and your work ethic in that group too.” She adds that Mrs. Trigg and Mr. Stainbrook expect to glean information about your range and your choral tone from your audition, as well as your sightreading ability and, for those going out for show choir, your ability to dance. But they don’t expect perfection. “They will take in people who have a drive and have a passion to want to get better,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s view from the outside is that the process is effective. “Their process, honestly, has gotten better over the years,” she says. “I think they’ve done a good job by making kids want to try and go out for stuff that they really want to.” She adds that she would adjust the dance audition process a bit. “Jennifer [Toney] does choreograph the dance for everybody…It’s just that Jennifer choreographs Attraction.” If Johnson were a director, she would ask Accents’ choreographer to create the dance for those trying out for Accents, to better depict how they would be dancing in that group.

Obviously, not every student will be satisfied with every placement, but Johnson doesn’t have many misgivings. Mrs. Trigg, however, has a story to tell.

“There were two girls one year that were in Black and Gold [beginning female choir], and they did not make it out of Black and Gold their sophomore year, not because of talent, but because of attitude,” Mrs. Trigg recalls. Her former students didn’t quit, but when Mrs. Trigg talked to them about getting their act together, they responded and finished their high school years in the most advanced choirs, Accents and Chamber Singers.

Clearly, Mrs. Trigg doesn’t place students in choirs solely based off of talent. There are several factors that play into the decision.

“Attendance is very important,” Mrs. Trigg says. “In sports, they have backup players, like if the quarterback goes down, there’s another quarterback. But with our performances, we’re all in all the time.” Mrs. Trigg also pays attention to work ethic and ability to get along with others. “Of course, you have to have a certain level of talent,” Mrs. Trigg maintains, “so you have to look at all of it.”

Some students, of course, are new to choir or the high school. For these singers, Mrs. Trigg and Mr. Stainbrook can’t look at work ethic, attendance, or attitude in the way they can with others.

“I do some research,” Mrs. Trigg says with a smile. “I send an email to their teachers, asking their advice. I check with other people that know them better to make sure I’m making the right decision.”

Mr. Stainbrook shared similar sentiments. He calls the official audition itself a “little snapshot,” noting that not every relevant aspect of a student is able to be analyzed during that time. “We like to remind students that they audition every single day,” Mr. Stainbrook says, making the point that choir is “like a job” and that when a student has shown themselves to be a hard worker “and we’ve seen a lot of growth from them, we know that that’s going to continue.”

Some students may wonder whether year in school plays a role. Mr. Stainbrook concedes that it may. “The choir program is set up in a way so that it’s kind of like rungs of a ladder,” he analogizes. “Ultimately, there are many students that have been working in some of our other ensembles, maybe working their way into Attraction for that next year, they would have earned that spot.” But both directors agree that seniority is not the end-all-be-all for their decision-making.

There is, however, a stipulation for a couple choirs based on year. It’s been a common rule that freshman girls who make show choir are always placed in Attraction, not Accents, and that Chamber Singers is a grades 10-12 ensemble.

“With a univoice show choir opportunity, there’s a place for [female] students that want an advanced choir experience as an incoming ninth grader,” Mr. Stainbrook says. Several schools don’t have show choir opportunities for freshmen, so the presence of Attraction is a benefit for Avon. “As far as Chamber Singers goes, that really is a sophomore-junior-senior level group,” Mr. Stainbrook asserts. Chamber Singers typically works with higher-level music, one of the reasons at least one year in high school choir is a prerequisite.

With two directors, there may be disagreements at times.

“We’re very blessed that it’s a mutually respectful and supportive collaborative relationship for us,” Mr. Stainbrook says. “At the end of the day, each of us has courses that we’re the teacher of record for. Mrs. Trigg is the teacher of record for Black and Gold and for Chamber Singers and for Accents, and I’m the teacher of record for Oriole Choir [beginning male choir] and for Allegros and for Attraction.”

The teacher of record has the final say in their respective choirs, but they make sure to take the advice of the other director in their decision-making.

In case any student is worried about favoritism, Mrs. Trigg and Mr. Stainbrook have something to say about that.

“I just say I don’t like anybody,” Mrs. Trigg asserts wryly.

Mr. Stainbrook assures his students that “I feel like I do a pretty good job of trying to give everybody a fair shake.” Mr. Stainbrook says that the perception of favoritism may come from simply knowing a student better and having a better relationship with them.

Though it may seem like an imposing and difficult test, the directors maintain that a choir audition is no more than an opportunity to showcase one’s abilities. As long as a student has been working hard, practicing respect, and focusing on their voice and their dance, Mr. Stainbrook and Mrs. Trigg say they can rest assured that the decision made is the one that will benefit them the most.

And so, when the page finally updates and the list PDF appears on the screen, the singer can know that where they see their name appear is the product of weeks of thought and deliberation by their directors and that, whatever happens, another year of choir lies ahead of them.