Varsity Choir will sing at the National American Choral Directors Association Concert on Friday. The group will leave on Wednesday night to drive 13 hours to Kansas City to perform at the Kauffman Center.

“I’m super excited to be performing,” junior Emily Evans said. “Because [NACDA] is a national conference, it’s basically the highest honor a high school choir can receive, and only about three high schools are chosen out of the U.S. I’ve been looking forward to it the entire year!”

Choir was chosen to perform at NACDA out of 285 high school choirs around the country. After being chosen by judges as one of the most excellent groups, the group was honored to be selected to sing for thousands of choral directors and music composers around the United States.

“We are ready for two outstanding national performances for [NACDA],” Associate Choir Director Megan Goodman said. “The girls will have the experience of a lifetime they will not soon forget. This is the biggest honor a choir in the United States can receive.”

Choir members said it is a huge honor to be accepted for a highly ranked conference, but getting there was a lot of work. Since the school year started, choir has been in full swing with practice every Monday from 4-5:30 p.m. during class and occasional four hour practices on Fridays.

“We have been working this performance since August, so it really has been a lot of time and effort,” senior Madeline Smyser said. “Not only has it made us closer as a group, but I feel like we have improved so much as individual musicians, which of course makes the ensemble better as well.”

Choir performed at a concert open to the community on Monday night and had a successful turnout. Some members of choir said their performances throughout the year have prepared them for NACDA and have been looking forward to this experience for many months.

“Although it’s an extremely long time to be on the bus, I am super excited,” Evans said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and we are definitely going to make lots of memories. The other thing I’m really looking forward to is performing at the Kauffman Center. It’s so different than the spaces we’re used to singing in, because it’s massive and the sound carries through the entire space. It’s going to be beautiful, and I think we’re all going to be emotional the first time we hear what it sounds like.”

Goodman said after all of the hours spent practicing, as a group and with guest conductors, she is certain that choir is ready to give a great performance on Friday.

“I think all of our hard work has definitely brought all of us closer together, as well as the music,” Evans said. “The songs we are singing are all so different, and so beautiful. I love hearing all of us sing together, it’s truly so liberating and so inspiring.”