On Saturday Feb. 22, 30 choir students participated in the annual District competition at Parkrose High School.

    Choir teacher Janine Kirstein has been a part of choir districts for 12 years and enjoys the effort each student puts into singing. According to Kirstien, her students are always well prepared to sing, and most take voice lessons from Kirstein or her daughter.

    “I also put a lot of time into getting students ready who don’t take lessons who want to [work with me],” Kirstein said.

    A recital was held at First Baptist Church two nights before Districts to help prepare students. According to Kirstein, they sang their best, revealing how hard they have been working.

    Though Kirstein dislikes competition due to it taking the emotion out of the music, she admits that it does force the students to rise to a higher level of perfection.

    “[Districts] is a way to motivate students and bring them to a higher level,” Kirstein said.

    Each student who participated in Districts sang two songs solo in front of a small crowd with one judge. The other schools that participated in this competition were Reynolds, David Douglas, Barlow, Parkrose, Sandy, Portland Christian, Hood River and Centennial.

As a result of the hard work each and every student put into singing, a handful of students are going to State. Senior Kyle Mueller beamed with delight when he heard he was the District Champion for tenor.

“I was really really excited. When they announced second place, I knew I won,” Mueller said.

The four main categories that singers are judged on are tone, technique, musicality and presentation.

After Mueller’s performance, he found out that he did really well on technique and musicality. The songs Mueller sang were “Deposuit Potentes” by Johann Sebastian Bach and “The Sign” by Gerald Finzi.

“[Districts] helps your ability to stand in front of other people and sing,” Mueller said.

Muller had the opportunity to go to State last year, and he is even more thankful that he is able to go this year.

State will be held at Lewis and Clark College on May 3. The students that are going to state this year are Kyle Mueller in tenor, Dacey McCrae in soprano, Gabi Alfonso in mezzo soprano, and the alternates are Josh Horine in baritone, Patrick Campbell in Base, and Riley Olson in alto.

Senior Gabi Alfonso shared the same excitement that Mueller did when she found out she was the District Champion for mezzo soprano.

“Last year I got second place, [and] this year winning first place felt really good,” Alfonso said.

Alfonso’s songs were difficult, but she found a way to do her best. The two songs she sang were “Voi, Che Sapete” by Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro) and “Heart We Will Forget Him” by Aaron Copland.

Compared to last year, Alfonso’s voice has improved a lot. According to Alfonso, one of her strengths at Districts was singing a lot darker and more mature than the other soloists, and one of her weaknesses was tending to swallow her vowel sounds. Although there were a few flaws, Alfonso knows there is room for improvement and is still really happy she has the opportunity to go to State.

“[For State] I am looking forward to be able to prove myself as a solo singer,” Alfonso said.

Alfonso is very grateful for Kirstein and her daughter providing voice lessons for her. She states that it really helps her with musicality.

Though State is just around the corner, students are looking forward to competing at a higher level.

“[I am looking forward to] Just singing my best I can possibly sing and trying to win at state,” Mueller said.