Byron Chamber Choir scores near perfect in contest

BYRON – The Byron Chamber Choir competed in IHSA Organization Contest that was held at Forreston High School on April 15. The Organization Contest is an event that high school choirs and bands perform selections of music for three judges. The events can be mixed choirs, jazz choirs, show choirs, treble choirs, and bass choirs. Byron’s Chamber Choir is a mixed choir made up of 13 guys and 12 girls. The chamber choir ranges in age from freshman through seniors.

As the group prepared for Friday’s competition, they learned three songs. The first song was “Sure on this Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen, the second song was “The Awakening” by Joseph Martin, and the third song was “The Storm is Passing Over” by Charles Albert Tindley. At the last minute, due to time restrictions on the performance, they decided not to perform the last song.

The group performed their pieces with exceptional precision. The judges sat back in their chairs and just listened to the performance. When the final ratings were given the judges scored them 40/40, 40/40, and 39.9/40. The Byron Chamber Choir was the top scored group at Organization contest held in Forreston. This group is under the direction of Amy Harn and was accompanied by Natalie Haas.

Front row (L to R) Justin Cone, McKenna Puseman, Caleb Denton, Ethan Fortener, Izzy Bartscher, Evan Walters, Ashley Camling, Kirk Martin, Holly Fortener, Matthew Harrington, Caleigh Huber. Back row (L to R) Spencer Nelson, Elissa Miller, Nick Peterson, Brittany Harn, Connor Harn, Tracie Raine, Nathan Penrod, O’Lyvianna Matheson, Bradley Morris, Tyler Rexroad, Maddie Prax, Morgan Jackson.