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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2005 Under the direction of Durene Putney, Phoenix High School won the Oregon School Activities Association State Choir Championships over the weekend. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Phoenix High hits a winning note Chamber Choir rejoices after winning a state championship By CATHY NOAH Mail Tribune Phoenix High School Chamber Choir on Friday became the first school south of Salem to win the Oregon School Activities Association State Choir Championships. "After we found out we had won, everyone was in tears," says Amanda Rogers, 17, a senior. "I couldn’t believe it. I was ecstatic and overwhelmed." More than 2,900 students in 48 schools competed in the state championships, held over the weekend at George Fox University in Newberg. With 15 students, Phoenix’s choir was by far the smallest in its AAA division. Most winning choirs average 40 singers, says Phoenix Choir Director Durene Putney, with bigger schools supporting 120 or more. Advertisement "I think that I have got at this time probably the most artistically sensitive students I have ever had," says Putney. "They have wonderful vocal skills, they have magnificent technique, but by the same token their artistic sensitivity is truly a delight." The Phoenix choir performed five songs in four languages, including "The Skidegate Love Song" in an American Indian tongue. It and "If Music Be the Food of Love" were the audience favorites, Putney and her students said. After "Skidegate," for example, audience members sat silent for several seconds, savoring the music before applauding, Putney says. "That’s what a choir strives for," says Desirae Sinyard, 18, a senior and first soprano. "That’s the time you know that you’ve touched the audience." Phoenix earned 292 points out of a possible 360, with Baker coming in second with 283. La Grande earned third with 272 points, Central (of Independence) was fourth with 266 and Molalla was fifth with 250. Choirs were judged not only on performance but a sight reading test afterward that challenged their skills in reading, rhythm, unison and two- and four-part harmony. "Miss Putney says it’s like a football team coming off the field after winning a game and taking a test about the rules," says Rogers, one of three tenors in the choir. The AAA state championship comes on the heels of other accomplishments by the choir, led by Putney for the past 10 years. It took fifth place in state in 2004 and fourth place in both 2003 and 2000. This year, 12 of the singers were selected for the audition-only All State Honor Choir, and four students — Kristen Waterbury, Claire Rogers, Cassandra Williams and Jared Thigpin — qualified to compete at the state solo contest. Thigpin took fourth place in the state for tenor. And when the choir took first overall and first in its division at the district championships in April in Medford, the choir was self-directed — Putney couldn’t be there. An anonymous donor rewarded the students with a brand new six-foot Suzuki grand piano, Putney says. In addition to students already mentioned, choir members are: Jaime Alexander, Julia Box, Keana Elmore, Kayla Heffner, Meagan Libante, David Reynolds, Anthony Serrano, Eve Smith and Johnmark Swegar. Three-quarters of the students are now putting their vocal talents to use in the high school’s production of "Oklahoma," which opens tonight at the school’s Rose Street Theater. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday and May 20-21, with a 2 p.m. matinee on May 22. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 for seniors and students. Reach City Editor Cathy Noah at 776-4473, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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