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DHS Choir Earns Gold, Silver At Districts, State Competitions
The students of the Doniphan R-I choir traveled to the district music festival at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff. The festival took place over two days, , March 31 and April 1. Performers were judged on the criteria of note and pitch accuracy, intonation, balance and blend, and stage presence.
Doniphan R-I choir director Rebecca Swafford took the Doniphan Mixed Choir and Treble Glee as well as two small assemblies and two soloists.
“All of our kids did amazing musically, but more importantly, they were joyful, energetic and engaging. This made a huge impression on the judges, TRC staff and other teachers. Even students from other schools noticed how much fun they were having,” she said.
The Mixed Choir of young men and women received an Exemplary (Gold) rating for their performances of Greg Gilpin’s “How Can I Keep from Singing?” and Roger Emerson’s “Good Timber.”
The advanced treble singers of Doniphan High School and Middle School Treble Glee performed Andrea Ramsey’s “The Woman to This Hour” and Ernani Aguiar’s “Salmo 150.” They were awarded an Outstanding (Silver) rating.
Large ensembles were required to perform a sight reading of a piece they have never performed or heard. Both choirs received an Exemplary rating for their sight-readings.
The DHS Women’s Small Ensemble of Alexis Breuning, Emma Robinett, Anna Hawks, Shannon Perren, Mya Maijala and Gracen Day achieved an Exemplary (Gold) rating. The Tenor/Bass Small Ensemble, consisting of Dawson Bishop, Alexis Breuning, Tyler O’Neal, Carter Brown, Lane Collins and Lane Cobb, also received the highest rating. Both small ensembles will head to state competitions.
Senior Alexis Breuning is going to state as part of the DHS Women’s Small Ensemble and the Tenor/Bass Small Ensemble. She also received an Outstanding for her solo performance of “Wie Melodien” by Brahms and “O Cessate” by Scarlatti. She will be graduating soon and wouldn’t trade her time in the music program for anything in the world, she said.
“Music gives you the liberty to express how you feel,” said Breuning, adding, “Choir has always been my outlet to express myself in a beautiful way.”
Freshman Lane Collins has been with the choir since his sixth grade year but this was the first year he was eligible to take a solo to district competition. He performed “Beautiful Dreamer” by Stephen Foster and “Pieta Signore” by Stradella for the judges and was awarded a Gold rating.
Riding their success at Poplar Bluff, Choir Director Swafford took every student who represented Doniphan R-I at the districts to the University of Missouri in Columbia to compete in the state competition on April 30.
Before they traveled to state, the choir took a scheduled trip to Springfield to sing at the Cardinals vs. Tulsa Drillers game on Saturday, April 23. The Middle School choir sang “This Land is Our Land” and the High School sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch. This was not the first time the Doniphan R-I choir sang for the minor league team. In 2019 they sang the national anthem at a game and were slated to do it again in 2020 until Covid-19 canceled that appearance, said Swafford.
