High school choir singers from schools north of I-70 and east of the continental divide met again on Feb. 5 for Combined League Honor Choir, held at Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley. This was an exciting opportunity for students to learn new songs, singing techniques and be a part of a unique ensemble.
“(I’m most excited) to be around all the people in (Combined League) and meeting people and making music,” Daisy Darrington (10) said. Darrington has been involved in the WHS choir since her freshman year.
Many WHS students auditioned for a spot, and only 19 singers were accepted into Combined League Honor Choir.
To audition, students learned the song “America” — commonly known as “My Country Tis of Thee” — and various scales in different keys depending on their voice part. Auditions were completed Nov. 8, 2024, and the selected students have been preparing for three months.
Overall, each student who auditioned was graded on a 78-point scale. Their score was determined by tone quality, intonation, technique, diction and interpretation.
“Anybody can audition for (Combined League), freshman through senior, but only juniors and seniors can audition for All-State, and so Combined League is kind of an opportunity for people who are not auditioning for All-State to be in an honor group, which is really cool,” Amy Murphy (staff) said. Murphy has been the director of choirs since 2020.
Overall, nearly 300 students from 30 different schools took part in the event, out of 600 who auditioned.
A singer’s day at Combined League consists of a morning and afternoon session, with a lunch break in between, capped off with a dinner break and a final performance.
“While we’re there, it’s very intensive. They arrive very early in the morning — we get there at 7:30 a.m., and they start rehearsing right away,” Murphy said. “… it’s very intense.”
Despite the intensity of the event, each year students leave with valuable lessons learned and lifelong memories made.
This was Gabe King’s (10) second year attending Combined League. “The best part is right before we sing our first song and the conductor’s like talking to the crowd, and then the curtains open, and you just see all the people and the lights slowly turn on just a tiny bit so you can actually see how many people are out there, and it was super fun because all of my friends were in the very first row,” King said.
