Sweet Home High School’s Symphonic Choir has qualified for the OSAA state competition for the first time in four years and the third time in school history.
The choir qualified at the PAC-West League Music Festival held March 2 at Santiam High School.
Qualification depends on judges’ scores in such competition. Competing choirs are judged on factors such as quality of sound, musicality, and technique.
Choir Director Matthew Clark said Sweet Home needed two out of three scores from judges to be 81 or better. The choir received scores of 86, 87 and 91.
They followed that up with the George Fox University Music Festival on March 5, where the competition was mostly 6A schools. Sweet Home again qualified, with scores of 82, 85 and 87.
Inclusion in the state competition is not automatic for qualifiying schools. In 2005 the choir, then called the Concert Choir, was selected out of a pool in which judges listen to recordings of qualifiers. Sweet Home finished eighth in state that time.
The next year the choir qualified again, but was not selected out of the “tape pool.”
Because Sweet Home did not win the Val-Co League competition on April 8, it is in the “Tape Pool.”
“So there is a small chance that although we did qualify for state twice already, we might not get to perform,” Clark said. “We would still be included on the official program as a school who qualified to perform at state.”
For performance information and scheduling for the state championships, visit http://www.sweethomechoirs.blogspot.com where information will be posted as it becomes available.