After auditioning in November, the All-State Choir has finally been announced. Wando had 46 singers make the Choir after multiple, extensive auditions.

“There’s basically three auditions they have to pass. First they have to sing the prepared song, which is pretty difficult,” Wando’s Associate Choral Director Mary Elizabeth Morton said. “Then if they pass that, they go to the Wando Chorus mock auditions, which is one night where they have to sing their own part individually in a quintet, [and] site read. Based on their score, they go to the actual all state auditions, which are in Columbia.”

Based on a score out of 150, students are selected for the All-State Choir. The qualifying score is different for each voice part.

“There aren’t as many male singers as there are female singers, so what we call the ‘cut off score’ is lower for the tenors and the basses than the second sopranos, that’s usually the highest cut off score. Every year it’s different,” Morton said.

This year was especially impressive, with multiple singers trying for, or placing first for their voice part in the state.

“There’s always the singers that I can tell have worked really really hard and taken everything that us directors have told them to do and practiced so hard out of school,” Morton said. “So when I see them make it, that makes it I think more special to them.”

Most of the qualifiers are typically upperclassmen. Freshmen are ineligible to audition, but this year three Wando sophomores (Peter Ranney, Maxwell McCrary, Alex Hodges) made All-State Choir. Only five seniors (Isaiah Allen, Brevin Stallings, Ben Hall, Karly Fitch, Lia Hsu-Rodriguez, Alannah Burril) have made All-State all three years.

“I wasn’t really expecting to make it. I felt good about the audition, but it’s just not very common for sophomores to make it,” Burril said.

Since her first year, Burril’s confidence has grown significantly. However, every year she looks forward to the same thing.

“My favorite part every year is meeting the conductors because they’re just amazing at what they do and you can always learn a lot from them,” Burril said. “They teach at universities which is really cool, so they’re really experienced.”

Every year there are conductors who lead the choir from different universities and colleges, bringing new experiences and styles each year. The singers are expected to prepare their songs individually before multiple days of rehearsal at Wofford.

“They’re learning their songs on their own, which is pretty tough,” Morton said. “Then they have a Thursday night rehearsal, rehearse all day Friday, rehearse Saturday morning, and then they perform on Saturday afternoon.”

The All-State Choir will perform March 2 at Wofford University.

All-State Singers from Wando:
Isaiah Allen
Maggie Beauston
Bennett Bogan
Andrew Borders
Jordan Bragg
Alannah Burril
Sam Connell
Riley Davis
Gracie Duffy
Karly Fitch
Ellie Fletcher
Lydia Gardner
Allie Gibbons
Kenzie Godfrey
Zach Green
Evan Haithcock
Ben Hall
Bella Higgins
Alex Hodges
Lia Hsu-Rodriguez
Meagan Jacobin
Julia Jellema
Ethan Kopfman
Ashton Lambert
Reilly Grace Marshall
Katie Massey
Max McCrary
Kyle McTavish
Isabella Minson
Clara Morse
Anna Parker
Georgia Peadon
Peter Ranney
Ryan Rothkopf
John Ryan
Lucy Scholtens
Nicholas Seiffert
Emma Smith
Brevin Stallings
Madeline Strickland
Abby Stroud
Hannah Tompkins
Amanda Whalen
Miller Whitten
Michael Davis Wiggins
Benjamin Williams