Students at Ridgeview High school have set a new school and district record this 2020 school year.  Nine of Ridgeview’s very own choir members tried out and made it to the All-State choir this school year.  According to Choir Director Elizabeth Provencio, this is the first time that the school has had this many students make it to the honor choir and the most in the Kern High School District. 

     Of those nine students that tried out and made it is senior Laeloni Lee. According to Lee, she stated that, “I had to submit a recording of me singing a portion of a formal Latin piece. In addition to that I had to inform them of my musical capabilities like my range and voice part. Lee has tried out for the All- State choir before and said this year was very different. 

    She said that usually auditions are held in person and is, “usually a continuation of another audition that you have had to pass and participate in that choir, then your scores are considered for the next step which is the All- State choir.” Lee added that this year the auditions were, “definitely more challenging due to their virtual aspect. It is scary to record yourself, listen to it, fix it several times over, and then feel confident enough to send it in . We had virtual help from our choral directors for the auditions, but we usually have one on one in person support to tackle the reality of an honor choir audition which of course could not happen this year.”

    Another Ridgeview student who was accepted to the All-State choir was freshman Kaydance Young. Young said that she was “very excited to make it and can’t wait to meet everyone.”  Roughly 260 choir students were accepted to the All-State choir across California High Schools. Young said that she is “excited for the new experience” and will try out again next year. 

     Meeting new people and having these experiences is something both Lee and Young will remember.  Both Lee and Young got involved with music and choir for different reasons. Lee started singing in the third grade. She says, “ I have always loved singing for myself and for other people. I loved challenging myself whether it was singing in new and different languages, auditioning for honor choirs, and auditioning for advanced high school choir as well as working at an advanced level that I was not exposed to before entering high school.” 

    Young got involved in choir when she was in junior high because, “ I was too scared to actually sing in front of people and I didn’t know why. I guess I just didn’t want people to judge me. Then when I joined choir last year and saw how accepting and fun it was and I decided that Ihad to join choir this year too.” 

     Lee and Young both agree that they are extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate and make it to the All-Star honor choir. Lee says, “ I am proud of myself and my peers for getting into this esteemed choir because passion, drive, and hard work really pays off.”