Solo & ensemble will take place on March 4 this year at Fort Zumwalt East. If North students qualify for state, they will perform on April 28 in Columbia. With more students performing and better preparing this year, some choir students may bring home gold awards for FHN.

“I believe we’ll do great,” junior choir student Jace Brockmann said. “Last year we got multiple gold awards and most people got gold on their competition. So I believe that we’ll do just fine.” 

Whether students are taking choir for a credit option or a potential career path, almost everyone gets excited for solo & ensemble. It’s an opportunity for students of vocal music to apply their skills that they’ve learned in the program and receive important feedback for future improvement. With more students preparing this year compared to last year, everyone is working overtime to prepare their solos and or ensembles.

“I know that [choir students are] working their butts off,” Brockmann said. “And I understand that they’re willing to participate more this year than last year. The more years they’re in choir, the more they understand that they need to work hard.”

Usually solo & ensemble is the most important event for choir students at North. But this year choir, Bella Voce and Knight Sound have the opportunity to perform alongside choir students from Lindenwood University at the Scheidegger Center on the same day of solo & ensemble. They’ve been preparing a masterpiece for the event, as well as privately preparing their own performance pieces for solo & ensemble. 

“They have solo & ensemble contest that day,” FHN Vocal Music Director Jennifer Oncken said. “And then they’re going to Lindenwood to be the only high school students singing with about 200 college students. Normally the whole day is about solo & ensemble contest, but that’s like the small thing in comparison to what we’re actually doing that day.”