Audition Choir is a Thursday afternoon club at Salida High School whose students meet weekly, with a few other meetings scattered about their schedules. It is the same number of students all semester, unlike other clubs which change students every four weeks. The students gather together to practice singing and work on perfecting their songs for performances. The name for Audition Choir comes from an initial audition students must complete in the fall.
“They are so proficient at singing that they don’t need me to play their part,” Andre Wilkins, the Audition Choir director said.
The choir is a collection of students that is open to vocalists and choir students that would like to be in a more advanced choir. Unlike regular SHS Concert Choir, this club is student-led, which allows the choir to cater more to the singers’ needs. Led by Audition Choir President–senior Jessica Clinton–the club is also referred to as “Advanced Choir” because it was created for more driven students. The music is mostly acapella, which means it has no piano or other instruments backing it.
If someone calls and asks if someone can sing at an event, Wilkins sends this choir opposed to the choir class that meets daily as part of the block schedule. The regular choir is the choir going to Carnegie Hall, whereas the Audition Choir has local performances. There are two main performances scheduled so far, one in December and one in May. They also are rehearsing for a fundraiser performance at Jane’s Place on December 16th.
“Students like Scarlett, Jessica and Nika have been in choir since 9th grade [so they are obvious leaders] and every year we have elections, and I’m a real big believer in student-led leadership. I don’t wanna be the president of the choir. I think that choir is like, the student’s ensemble,” Wilkins said.
To get involved in the student leadership, it is run as if it is a public election. The students get a say in who leads them and this makes the leaders devoted enough to work to do their best.
Wilkins is just the director, but the student leaders are the ones who choose to do events.
“They’re the ones that choose if we’re going to go sing at the Steamplant after the Parade of Lights,” Wilkins added on to his earlier statement.
Audition Choir performs in the community, rehearses often, and elects their own leadership. The choir is made up of driven vocalists and students that have been participating in the choir since their freshman year in high school.
