LGPE stands for Large Group Performance Evaluation. This year our Concert Choir traveled to Pepperell High School on Tuesday, March 17th where they performed two performance pieces called “Non Nobis Domine” and “The Silver Swan.” This is an annual event that they have done over the years, and there is a good amount of work that goes into the performance evaluations.
According to Janna Franks, a junior and a member of the HHS Concert Choir, the process involves the Concert Choir having about 15 minutes or so to warm up. They then go and sing for a group of judges, who give feedback on what they need to improve on. Then they come back to their set reading room and they get five minutes to practice a short piece of music that they have never seen and then they sing it. This was in two parts and they received superior ratings for their incredible performance
Selections for the choir go by district, which allows any school in the district that wants to be a part of it to sign up. This is for if you signed up to be in choir. No other classes have this opportunity. This is an honor to have the opportunity to join the choir and participate in this event.
This is a way for the chamber choir to get an overview on what they need to improve on and what they need to keep working on. This is basically a chance to improve their singing skills, reading skills, and to just have a chance to grow and keep on working hard.
The day was very stressful, but above all they still worked in some down time before the big event. Michael Courtney, a senior choir member, said, “We went to the mall and got lunch, and we just had a great time.”
Not only did the choir go, but the symphonic band and wind ensemble also went as well. The HHS Band Director, Bill Wynn, led the symphonic band and wind ensemble to success. Both the symphonic band and wind ensemble got superior ratings from the judges for the wonderful performance that they did. They too had to play a piece that they had never seen before. They get to look at theirs for six minutes then they play it for the judges. There were 105 band students in total that participated, about roughly 50 in symphonic band and about 55 in wind ensemble according to Mr. Wynn. They spend the third quarter of the school year preparing for this event.
Chandler Crittenden, a sophomore who is in the symphonic band, stated, “I think it has gone really well. We had been working hard for the past couple of months to improve our playing, and we even went to Barry College to get feedback from higher ups, and we had improved a lot in the two week span, and I think we played really well.”
Overall, both band and choir set the bar high. and did a really impressive job and showed that they have what it takes to perform in LGPE. Next year’s participants will try their best to live up to Heritage standards wherever they end up playing at. This is a tremendous event to be at and participate in as a student or as a parent watching their student perform.
