Westwood choir students were selected to perform at the All-Region concert at Georgetown High School on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The preparation for the concert lasted all day, with rehearsals starting at 9 a.m. Students who had placed in the top 25 chairs at the All-Region auditions received an opportunity to sing with other students from all over the local area.

“I went to a summer camp to learn the music and also took voice lessons over the summer,” Akshay Aggarwal ‘17 said. It was his third year in Westwood choir and his third time at All-Region.

Aggarwal was one of 25 students from Westwood to advance to the next level of Pre-Area auditions, one of the many steps to the All-State choir clinic held in San Antonio in February.

“For people involved in choir, the experience of singing with the All-State choir is something that people dream about,” Aggarwal said.

Stephanie Krill ‘17, who made it to All-State choir last year, felt more pressure to make it again this year.

“Knowing what I can achieve and looking forward to spending a week surrounded by people who love music and singing make the pressure worth it,” Krill said. “It makes me more driven to do well.”

Osric Nagle ‘18, who made All-State last year as a sophomore, said auditions have become more stressful but also less stressful in a different way.

“The [All]-State experience has made me a more confident singer, but at the same time, the expectation to pull of a repeat is high,” Nagle said. “It makes me nervous when I audition, as I don’t want to let myself and other people down.”

But for all choir members who made All-Region, the experience was rewarding, even if it wasn’t their first time.

“I like singing with everyone who made All-Region,” Nammu Srinath ‘17 said. “Everyone has such good voices that are all together in the same room.” It was her sixth year in choir and third at All-Region.

As musicians, the different styles of the selected audition pieces made learning the music exciting.

“The pieces you sing are really varied in their style and fun to sing, so it makes the process worthwhile,” Aggarwal said.

Although lots of time and effort were spent in the process, just being part of the choir community made everything worth it for the students.

“Choir has become a sort of “second home” where I can stop worrying about grades, college, and other worries and hang out with a lot of great, passionate people,” Nagle said. “To me, choir is more than singing. It’s the manifestation of a passion that can only be heard through song.”