Record Number of PHS Students Selected to Regional Honor Choir

A record number of Poway High School vocalists will perform in the Southern California Vocal Association Regional Honor Choir at Santa Monica High School Saturday.

Poway High School's 18 students is the largest number chosen from any high school program in San Diego County. It is also the biggest group in the school's history.

"I have a very talented senior class this year," said Poway High School Director of Choral Activities Nancy Gray. "There are lots of seniors and several other kids who have done it before and encouraged others to participate because they enjoyed it."

Of the more than 600 Southern California students who auditioned in October, only 260 were selected to sing in the Women's, Men's or Mixed Honor Choir.

The 12 seniors, five juniors and one sophomore who were selected from Poway High School performed an Italian Art Song and demonstrated basic theory musicianship skills during their auditions.

Gray compared the rigorous process to auditioning for a college choir.

"It's very selective," she said. "It's a very difficult audition."

Still, Gray's students credit her for preparing them for the audition process.

"I think Mrs. Gray hits us with a lot harder stuff than most schools," said senior Erik Van Heyningen, who is participating in the Honor Choir for a third time. "I remember even my sophomore year—when I wasn't at my strongest—I had already seen harder stuff with Mrs. Gray's audition."

The audition isn't the only challenging aspect of the Honor Choir. The singers receive a packet of music they have to learn on their own. They only met for one rehearsal on Oct. 30 before this weekend.

"It really challenges you," explained senior Anna Frisch, who is also participating in the Honor Choir for a third time.  "You're not in rehearsal everyday for a period of time. You have to work on your own."

After memorizing their music, all the singers meet for two days of intense rehearsal.

"It's a lot of work, which is why they have to be very selective and only choose the strongest musicians," Gray said. "You have to know your music."

Although Van Heyningen and Frisch have been selected for the Honor Choir since they were sophomores, they still feel extremely honored to be a part of the group.

"It's a chance to be around a lot of other musicians who are better than you," Van Heyningen said. "You still see those people and you think, 'My god! I'm with these kinds of people!' How awesome is that to be considered in the same performing group."

The performance is open to the public. Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased at Santa Monica High School.

"When you come together, you're with a bunch of people who are really passionate about music and everyone's putting 100 percent in," Frisch said. "In a matter of two days, you can create beautiful music. It's amazing."

Event info

What: SCVA Regional Honor Choir performance

When: Saturday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

*The Men's Honor Choir performance will begin at 7:40 p.m., followed by the Women's Honor Choir performance at 8:15 p.m. and the Mixed Honor Choir performance at 8:50 p.m.

Where: Santa Monica High School, 601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica

How much: Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased at Santa Monica High School.

Contact: For more information, visit scvachoral.org