Every year, members of two of the chorus ensembles sing and read music at the Music Performance Adjudication (MPA), which this year was held at Meredith College.

The Advanced Choir scored Excellent while the Women’s Ensemble brought home a Superior rating.

“I was really proud of both groups. Just seeing how hard they were working in class and how focused they were, and how much they were able to grow in a short amount of time and push themselves. I was really proud to see that from them and their work ethic,” Chorus Teacher Julie Dale said. “My Women’s Ensemble: I was really proud of them as well for all their hard work. There’s fewer of them in that class, so we really enjoy studying the music and the technique at a deeper level.”

Junior Famatta Kuyateh and sophomore Devonte Allen revealed how they felt prior to the assessment.

“I wouldn’t say I felt nervous, but obviously it was the second year I’ve been in MPA, so it went kind of good,” Allen said.

Kuyateh had a similar reaction.

“Normal,” she said when asked about her feelings towards the group’s performance. “I mean, we do it every year, so it’s not such a big deal.”

Although both groups earned positive scores, for Dale, there’s always the goal of further improvement.

“So my advanced group, we’re definitely working to have more consistent technique in terms of their tall vowels and their blend as a choir,” Dale said. “One of my groups got off by like a beat, and that kind of messed them up for a bit, but they got back on track. So, I think both of us are working in class to build those music reading skills to where they can be just more independent musicians.”

Not only is MPA a chance to evaluate and improve their music talents, it’s also a way to discover new things about themselves.

“For my own self I had to overcome choking up, so basically like, get stuck on my own words, cause I’m a little stage fright, so it’s a little scary,” Allen said. “After that, I learned that, you know, stage fright is nothing you should be scared of because everyone’s there for you.”

Dale has many strategies to help her students achieve what’s best for them.

“I think the sight reading is also important just to know that that is an important aspect of what we do,” Dale said. “We want to sing with good technique, we want to sound as good as a choir, but at the end of the day, if my students can’t take a piece of music and be able to learn it on their own after they’ve left chorus class, then what have they really learned?”