{"id":1866,"date":"2023-05-03T13:26:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T17:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/?p=1866"},"modified":"2023-05-15T13:11:57","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:11:57","slug":"choir-consistently-conquers-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/2023\/05\/03\/choir-consistently-conquers-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Choir Consistently Conquers Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

James Libresco<\/p>\nStaff Writer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The ACHS Choir is a staple school program that is regularly recognized on state and national levels. Comprised of an Advanced choir, Mixed Concert choir, and Colore Dolce (women’s choir), the group is led by Conductor Theodore Thorpe III. They have had an excellent year, collecting \u201cSuperior\u201d ratings left and right, and winning competitions against schools from across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis school year has been great,\u201d said Thorpe. \u201cAll the way from the fall concert, to winter, to our assessment, and even our recent trip to Orlando . . , watching these students grow has been the most gratifying thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the school year began, however, the group was nowhere near the place they are now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a struggle at the beginning of the year, to get our stuff together,\u201d said senior Sachsen Belinsky, who serves as choir Vice-President. \u201cAs we worked more frequently together, we got progressively better\u2026 We\u2019re miles away from where we were,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thorpe agrees. \u201cWithout a doubt, there\u2019s been significant improvement,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we were to take a look at the fall concert and where we are now, it\u2019s like night and day . . , not only with the students\u2019 singing, but with their progression through musical choices, their vocal technique, their tone, and their quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Titan choristers prepare for their December 13 winter performance, as captured on film.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the district competition came around, the group was going strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did great at Districts,\u201d said junior Torenzo Ricks, a member of the Advanced and Mixed Concert choirs. There, each choir received \u201cSuperior\u201d ratings (the highest award possible). Ricks said that experience helped them later on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe feedback that we got was phenomenal. It shaped us for getting wins in Orlando,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip Ricks mentioned, to Orlando, Florida, took place in late March. All choirs except Mixed Concert attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe trip was absolutely amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were able to really connect with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belinsky also enjoyed visiting Orlando. \u201cIt was a lot better than I expected; it was so smooth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While on the trip, the group attended a clinic at the University of Central Florida, hosted by Dr. Jeffery Redding. \u201c[Redding] is amazing,\u201d Belinsky said. \u201cHe really helped us prepare for our competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The competition they attended, dubbed OrlandoFest, featured choirs from all over the United States and was judged by college choral professors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce we got on stage [at OrlandoFest], we realized it was a real thing,\u201d said Ricks. \u201cOur true selves were shown,\u201d he said. \u201cTears were shed. Love was fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group won a plethora of honors. Both the Advanced Choir and Colore Dolce received \u201cSuperior\u201d ratings and first-place awards in their respective categories, and freshman Elisa Quesada Sayler collected the Outstanding Soloist prize. The choir, as a whole, also won the Grand Champion award for the highest-scoring ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was wonderful,\u201d said Ricks. \u201cWe were all one voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From left: August Taylor, Elisa Quesada Sayler, Theodore Thorpe III, Sachsen Belinsky, Owen McCubbin, Alexanda Sarangay<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what’s the secret to winning all of these awards? According to Belinsky, it\u2019s Thorpe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe just expects us to be good. And that level of confidence in us is really encouraging and inspiring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ricks had high words for Thorpe as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. Thorpe does not give himself enough credit. Without him, there would be no ACHS choir, there would be no \u2018Superior\u2019 ratings,\u201d he said. \u201cThe discipline that he instills in us, the fun that we have, it\u2019s all because of him. He deserves his flowers, and he is absolutely amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thorpe also appreciates his students and their commitment to keep growing. \u201cThat\u2019s the only thing you can ask for as an educator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, both Belinsky and Ricks say a sense of community has contributed to the group\u2019s success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe community is the best part [of choir],\u201d Belinksy said. \u201cIt\u2019s the reason why we have \u2018Superior\u2019 ratings.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can really say that my second family is my choir family. I love the fellowship, the friendships, the relationships, and the bonds that I\u2019ve made. And I love the fact that we\u2019re able to connect,\u201d said Ricks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bus ride home from Orlando is interrupted with dinner.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with their seemingly endless collection of awards, the choir has no plans of slowing down. For Thorpe, this means preparing future students for what is to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to continue to strengthen the vertical instruction model, not just at the high school.., but from grades 4 through 12,\u201d he said. \u201cOur [high school] choirs are only as strong and as powerful as our middle and elementary school programs. We need to strengthen those in order to make sure we have good representation from year to year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos courtesy of <\/em>Titans Choir<\/em><\/a> and Lola Jeanne Carpio.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ACHS Choir is a staple school program that is regularly recognized on state and national levels. Comprised of an Advanced choir, Mixed Concert choir, and Colore Dolce (women’s choir), the group is led by Conductor Theodore Thorpe III. They have had an excellent year, collecting \u201cSuperior\u201d ratings left and right, and winning competitions against schools from across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":1882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[23,536,537,28],"class_list":["post-1866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlight","tag-achs","tag-choir","tag-thorpe","tag-titans"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Screen-Shot-2023-05-03-at-1.18.29-PM-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1866"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions\/2000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}