Vocal soloists and ensembles from U-High competed in the Illinois High School Association District One Music Contest at Reavis High School in Burbank on March 7, and each earned a Division One ranking of at least 36 out of 40 possible points.

Participants were judged in vocal quality, musicianship, intonation, blend, balance and artistic interpretation. 

Weekly student-driven rehearsals began in November after music teachers Katy Sinclair and Hsing-Huei Huang assigned songs to ensembles and soloists.

“This was something that the students wanted to do. They knew that the more they rehearsed, the better they would be,” Ms. Sinclair said. 

Senior Kepler Boonstra sang “Les Berceaux” by Gabriel Faure and was voted best of the day for the second year in a row. French teacher Jean-Franklin Magrou sat in on a rehearsal and helped with pronunciation. 

Kepler said, “This year, I really wanted to do something in French because I’ve been studying it for so long.”

Kepler was also part of a quartet with sophomore Katie Baffa and juniors Isha Nayak and Graham Waterstraat that earned a perfect score by singing “Cantate Domino” by Giovanni Croce. 

“That was probably one of our best run-throughs,” Kepler said. “I think that right immediately before, we talked about some things that we could improve on from rehearsals, and we just implemented those.” 

To improve in the future, Kepler said he can work on breath control. 

Junior Sara Thomas sang “Arise My Love” by Laura Farnell with ninth grader Sara Charles Waterstraat, sophomore Kira Sekhar and juniors Ella Beiser, Michelle Weaver and Cindy Wu.

Sara said it was difficult to coordinate a practice time. 

“The only time we could practice was on Friday mornings before school, which required everyone waking up really early, and it was kind of inconvenient for everyone,” Sara said.

Katie Baffa also sang “Danza, Danza” by Francesco Durante; sophomore Julian Ingersoll sang “Sebben, Crudele” by Antonio Caldara; Isha Nayak also sang “Se Florindo e Fedele” by Alessandro Scarlatti; senior Leland Culver sang “Come Again, Sweet Love” by John Dowland; Aleksandra Witkowska sang “Il Mio Bel Foco” by Benedetto Marcello; ninth graders Zoe Johns and Sara Charles Waterstraat, sophomore Erik Erling and senior John Freeman sang “Tutto Lo Dimi Dici Canta” by Orlando di Lasso.

Reflecting on the performances, Ms. Sinclair said, “We always rank very high, and it’s because of the work the kids decide to put in.”