Three trophies and two first place finishes were captured by the Oxford Middle School Concert and Honors choirs during the ‘Music in the Parks? competition held May 10 at Cedar Point in Ohio.
‘I’ll always remember the performance we gave,? said seventh-grader Jessica Ojeda, a member of both choirs. ‘It’s amazing to be able to sing your hardest in front of everyone, doing something you love and being rewarded for it.?
Oxford Middle School’s two seventh and eighth grade choirs took high honors amidst a field of choirs and bands from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
Under the direction of Jan Flynn and Christopher Card, the 91-member OMS Concert Choir competed in the Middle School Class AA Mixed Choir division and received a superior rating with a composite score of 92.
Concert Choir received the highest score in their division and brought home a first place trophy.
‘When I heard we received first place with a superior rating I couldn’t believe it! I was jumping up and down and screaming my heart out,? said seventh-grader and Concert Choir member Kiley Black. ‘On Sunday my throat was so sore from screaming!?
Groups were evaluated on tone quality, intonation, rhythmic and melodic accuracy, articulation and musicality.
Each group performed two selections with 50 points possible for each song.
Honor Choir’s 27 vocalists, under the direction of Card, competed in the Middle School Class AA Treble Choir division and received a superior rating with a composite score of 96. Honors Choir received the highest score in their division, bringing home a first place trophy.
Not only did the OMS Honors Choir take first place in the Middle School division, it also received a trophy for having the highest score of all the middle school choirs participating at the music competition.
Their superior rating score of 96 also was the highest score out of all of the choirs and bands, beating out all of the high school groups as well.
‘The day at Cedar Point was so much fun, but the performance and its results were more valuable by far,? said eighth-grader and Concert Choir member Cassie Edgemon.