The choir has endured months of practicing and four rounds of competition in order to make it to the 2015 Texas All-State Choir competition. Lots of hard work and hours of preparation came down to this competition and three students from Vandegrift rose to the occasion. Nick Birk, Cami Everitt and Ericka Myers shattered all expectations and qualified for All-State Choir, being the only LISD choir students to do so.

Senior Nick Birk made the eighth chair Bass 1 in the men’s All-State choir competition. Those competing in this category prepared two songs to sing, Singet Dem Herrn Ein Neues Leid by Bach and Go Lovely Rose by Z. Randall Stroop.

“I was definitely nervous, but I have been working on this music for six months so I also felt very confident. When I found out I made the all state choir, I was elated. It felt absolutely amazing to see that all my hard work paid off,” Birk said.

Not only was their success in the men’s choir, but also in the All-State Women’s and Mixed Choir. Junior Cami Everitt got fifth chair Alto 1 in the All-State Women’s Choir and sophomore Ericka Myers got second chair Alto 1 in the All-State Mixed Choir. Having two girls from the school district, let alone the same school qualify, shows how well choir director Michael Ferris prepares his students and how talented the students are. Despite the nerves these three qualifiers were able to come out on top.

“When I found out that I made it, my first reaction was to cry, but then I just got super excited to be a part of the All-State Mixed choir. My favorite thing about it was probably being with my friends. We were all there for each other no matter the results and it was comforting to know that I had people that constantly supported me,” Myers said.