Making a joyful noise

Catherine Amos / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: March 21, 2008

Hard work pays off.

For the first time, every Culpeper County Public School choir which participated in last week's District XIII choral festival left with the highest rating of "Superior" from the judges.

Choirs at the March 14 festival in Culpeper came from Culpeper County High School, Culpeper Middle School and Floyd T. Binns Middle School, ranging from 6th to 12th graders.

The festival is not a competition among area choirs, but rather a competition against the choirs themselves, said Adam Hughes, CMS choral director and middle school festival host.

There is no winner, but each chorus is rated from Poor to Superior.

"I'm just very proud of these kids and what they've accomplished," said Hughes, a first-year teacher and VCU graduate.

Each CMS coed choir sang three songs for the judges. 
CMS Principal Bill Zierden had nothing but praise for Hughes and the CMS choirs.

"I think it says an awful lot about his leadership to come into a brand new situation and in just a few months lead the children to three superior ratings," Zierden said. "The kids did great too. I don't want to short change them."

Hughes expressed thanks to the CMS faculty and staff for its festival support.

"We should be very proud," he said. "I expressed to the staff that this is exactly how I imagine a school should work together for a common goal. I can't see a better way to lead by example to our students than by supporting them."

A great reward
Choral Director Tiffany Richtarski and Band Director Duane Clore combined forces to teach Culpeper County High School's four choirs out of seven that attended the festival.

"The festival went better than any other festival we've ever done," said Richtarski, who has taught at CCHS for nearly eight years. "They performed better than they had in class."

Each high school choir is made up students from 9th through 12th grades; two are co-ed and the two a cappella groups are gender-specific.

Richtarski was happy with the judges' comments following her choirs' performances Friday.

"Thanks for working so hard," said judge Mandy Carr. "You are fabulous. Your group consistently looks good on stage and are disciplined."

Judge Stephen Burton said: "Wonderful group. I love your enthusiasm. Keep up the good work."

The CCHS choirs have been practicing their song selections since the beginning of January.

"I told the kids during rehearsal, 'Do you want the Superior or the Excellent-'" Richtarski said. "And they would yell back, 'Superior!' So I told them they needed to work and practice.

"I'm very proud. I'm really excited to continue teaching in Culpeper County. It's showing me what's coming my way, and Culpeper has a lot of great years ahead of it."

A surprising day
The students at Floyd T. Binns Middle School reaped similar accolades from the judges Friday, thanks in part to Choral Director Doray Walker, who sent her students home with CDs of herself singing their parts to practice.

"The kids performed better than we expected," Walker said. "They came in nervous but sang beautifully. It was a surprising day for both them and me."

Walker's 8th grade choir received a Superior rating last year as well and worked hard this year to achieve the same. All her choirs are coed and range from 36 students to 53. The two larger choirs - 7th and 8th grades - are split in half and struggle to find time to practice together.

The judges praised the choirs' sound, blend and intonation, Walker said, and thought they sounded good in unison and in parts. She said because two choirs practice in parts, she is able to better work on the more technical aspects of their sound.

"They came in thinking, 'We're excellent choirs and we'll sing our best,' but they came out with superiors," she said.

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771  or at camos@starexponent.com.

Participating choirs:
CCHS: The Troubadours, The Madrigals, Men's A Cappella and Women's A Cappella
CMS: 6th, 7th and 8th grade choirs
FTBMS: Bel Canto Choir (6th), Renaissance Choir (7th) and Trouveres Choir (8th)

Ratings:
Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent or Superior