District IX Honor Choirs: A Tempest of Sounds

The hallways of C.D. Hylton High School were lined with over 400 students resembling penguins in their uniform black trousers and white button-up shirts this weekend. The students, from nearly 50 different schools, were at Hylton for the District IX Honor Choir held on Friday and Saturday.

Students auditioned last fall to participating in the annual event. The auditions included at least one prepared piece and one sight-reading piece; a never-before-seen musical score that gauges your ability to process and successfully perform your respective role while under great pressure.

The students perform world-class songs, but what some may not know about choir is the intense need to regulate pitch and tone. In band, if a percussionist hits the wrong key on a marimba, it’s one note out of hundreds very quickly forgotten. A singer who loses pitch is forced to readjust muscle stiffness in their throat and re-gauge air pressures. Remember also what muscles are controlling air pressure: the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, intercostal muscles, and to a lesser extent, neck muscles. Not to make things seem hopeless, but most of these songs are also in different languages, like Spanish and Latin.

Hylton Music Department Chair Thomas Tutwiler took time from his chaotic schedule to explain further what those participating in districts have dedicated themselves to. “Unlike band, we have text, so we could be reading a South American poet or an amazing poem like Water Night. ‘Night brings us wetness to beaches in your soul.’ …That’s really cool, and the end of the song, which led to us asking our students if they had beaches in their souls. It was incredible, men and women of all ages gave incredibly vulnerable answers to the question, and believe me, every time they sang this chorus, there was a visible and powerful connection.”

According to the program booklet, 426 students were performing this past weekend, along with 18 musical scores. District performances are free to observe, a great opportuniy for anyone who wishes to share an experience with those touched by music.