Five Antioch Community High School students and choir teacher Michael Hickey, boarded a plane to Kansas City, Missouri on February 27 to participate in some of the best student choirs in the country. Hosted at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference, a yearly conference for choral directors, these honors choirs were formed after a rigorous audition process in November of 2018.

Each day at the conference, seniors Cale Wolf and Shannon Price, juniors Marcella Rivera and Joyclyn Crawford, and sophomore Erika Mehring had up to four rehearsals, each of them three hours long. During these rehearsals, the choirs learned at least six songs each.

“It was one of the most amazing and fun learning experiences I will ever have,” Price said.

The male choir, under the direction of Jefferson Johnson, was made up of 200 members, chosen out of the 700 that auditioned. They performed the songs In Mente Altissimi, O Sacrum Convivium, Tarantella, Dedication, Joshua Fit the Battle, Hard Times, and Music In the Air. Likewise, the female choir, under the direction of Sandra Snow, was made up of 320 members, out of 1300 that auditioned. They performed the songs Saucēja Dziesma, Stabat Mater, Wandl’ ich in dem Wald des Abends, My Mother’s Words, I Have A Voice and Be Thou My Vision.

The choirs performed on Saturday, March 2, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.