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news letter journal it?
July 9, 2020 11
Students sing throughout the year
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
Singing, the right way, takes a
lot of time and practice, according
to Newcastle High School choir
instructor Jan Ellis. And her two
students, Xavin Gallardo and
Duncan Cox, who participated
in the 2020 Wyoming All-State
Choir, are no exception.
Preparing for the annual
cumulative event begins
when school starts every year,
Ellis said, noting that her
singers perform and practice
throughout the year. Not only
do they prepare for All-State,
but both young men perform the
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
at\sporting and other events
throughout the year.
“Auditioning
for the
rim Lari
Wyoming All-State Choir starts
Sept. 1 when the material comes
online for us. The students
choose their voice pan that is
the most comfortable, and then I
make them a practice recording
to help when they practice at
home,” Ellis said. “Most students
schedule one or two lessons per
week to work on the material
with me, which includes two
scales, a vocal warm-up, two
eight-measure excerpts from the
All-State music, and examples
of what they might expect from
the sight reading.”
Working on the music
for two months, the students
perfect the music elements
of the piece, according to
Ellis. During the first week
of November the auditions
are recorded and sent to
the Wyoming Choral vice
president.
“They (the singer) needs
to sing with correct breath
support, vowel shapes, diction
and rhythmic accuracy, as well
as perfect intonation as the audi-
tion is completely a capella,”
Ellis said. “Once they enter the
audition room, they are given
only beginning pitches and
must sing each part of the audi-
tion while it is being recorded.
There are no do-overs.”
The recorded auditions are
then sent to screeners who listen
and rank the auditions by ability
before the Wyoming Choral vice
president listens and chooses the
180 top auditions to be a part of
the All-State Choir.
Ellis reported that she has
previously filled the VP roll and
U32 “(3% ';
bf'b‘ '13 ' Vivi”
each year that individual listens
to all 700-plus auditions before
selecting the All-State Choir.
“This is a very difficult
audition to begin with, and
only getting one chance is quite
stressful. Just accomplishing the
audition, whether or not chosen,
is a testament to the hard-
working talented musicians
we have here in Newcastle,”
Ellis said. “As I would be very
conservative that a minimum
10 hours of rehearsal for the
audition process happens with
me, let alone how much is spent
at home.”
“The music is then sent to
the students to practice with me
and'online begins so they will
be prepared when they meet in
January with other students to
practice for two days,” Ellis said.
Photos by
Walter Sprague/NLJ
r l ‘
Accomplishments
Roberson named to Honor Roll
More than 230 students were named to the
Sheridan College honor rolls this semester, including
Sawyer Roberson from Newcastle who made the Vice
President’s Honor Roll. Due to the COVID-l9 pandemic,
some students must still complete in-person portions
of their coursework. An additional honor roll list will
be released at a later date to include those students.
For full-time students
" u n n I N fitoearnaplaceon
ACADEMIC
Alllillll
the Vice President’s
Honor Roll, they must
maintain full-time
enrollment by com-
pleting 12 credit hours
or more with letter
grades of A, B, C,
OR S and a semester
GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Credits counted in S
graded classes may
not exceed one credit.
The postponing of the fireworks display by the Newcastle
Volunteer Fire Department dldnot put a damper on the celebra-
tions on the 4th of July. Firework booths were busy as custom-
ers purchased the anticipated fireworks while cotton candy
and popcorn were made avallable at the Antlers, and once the
storms passed the city was noisy with bangs and whistles until
midnight as fireworks were lit off all over. Clockwise from top:
Ty and Diane Christianson with their sons, Troy and Brady, buy
popcorn and cotton candy; the Purviance family and guests cel-
ebrate with their own fireworks well into the night of the fourth;
the Four Square Lighthouse Church ran a fireworks stand with
proceeds to go to mission trips, their youth program, and other
benevolence ministries. Mick, Linda, and Payton Bohn, along
with Natalia Macias assist customers; fireworks pop and sizzle
on the sidewalk.
The Watchdog:
A role that is still important
to a functioning democracy.