One of the highest honors for a choir member is to be selected for District Choir. Three choir students had the honor of making it into this selective group: senior Josh Palackal (tenor), junior Niyah Gransbury (alto) and sophomore Jillian Miller (soprano).

Every year, students from all around the region audition but only a few people make it. The auditions took place at the end of November at Upper Merion High School. District auditions means that HH students competed against students from the 12 districts from all over Montgomery and Bucks counties. 

Palackal said, “When I found out I had made it, I was ecstatic! Having the opportunity to learn even more music, re-audition for region chorus, and perform in the District 11 choral festival at Springfield Township High School will be amazing.” 

Students interested in auditioning are given the music months in advance, including practice tracks, to help them prepare. Anyone who wants a solid chance of making it has to commit hours of practice to learning and mastering the repertoire. This year’s songs were Mendelssohn’s “How Lovely Are the Messengers” and Victoria’s “O Magnum Mysterium.”

At the actual audition, judges ask the singers to only recite one section from one of the two songs. Singers are not told which song or section they will be tested on beforehand, so they must know both songs very well. Then, the sight-singing aspect of the audition asks competitors to sing six random measures of music they have never seen before. Choral director Mr. Jon Timmons holds mock auditions for all interested students to help prepare his students. 

160 students are ultimately selected for District Choir throughout the two counties. Students also have the chance to audition for Regional Choir and State Choir. Regional Choir accepts 160 students from 5 different counties in PA, and State Choir accepts the top 288 students in the entirety of Pennsylvania.