The Cleveland Choir placed eighth at their 6A state competition on Saturday, May 4 at the Oregon State University campus. This was in the top third of the competition, a major success for the program.
The choir sang a wide range of songs from different time periods and with different styles. They performed in five different languages across their entire performance, which lasted a total of 20 minutes. Judges described the performance as “vivid, polished, and exciting to behold.”
They began with an excellent delivery of “Veniki,” a Russian song, followed by “Klosterfraulein,” in German. Next, they sang “Cantate Domino” and then “Fecit,” both in Latin. Lastly, they finished with the Venezuelan, “La Paloma,” preceded by “Aia La” in Hawaiian.
For decades, the Cleveland Choir has prided itself on its ability to sing in other languages with the same accuracy as other groups, but also with the typically absent aspect of energy in a group’s unified voice. This feature was present in the state competition, with all members of Cleveland’s main choir, the Aureum Choir, delivering a performance that rivaled their Soprano Alto counterparts at St. Mary’s.
Junior soprano singer Nadia LeClerc added, “I felt pretty good about [our performances]. I think there’s also a lot of nerves when it comes to these things, especially since we are one of the only other soprano alto choirs besides St. Mary’s.”
Although the pressure was intense on some, the result was well worth it.
“It was a great show,” commented Choir Director Allison Cottrell, as even though their choir often sits around 35 members, they were still able to bring home a top 10 placement.
LeClerc states that one of the most fulfilling aspects of the choir is singing together despite the stress and pressure of competition: “I think there’s something that’s super rewarding about being intimidated by a song but overcoming that and being able to confidently sing it.”
Cottrell said, “I could not be more proud of our choir’s hard work and dedication this year!”
Contributor: Alex Valliere
