Isaac occasionally turns up the volume to drown out my voice when I sing along with the radio in the van. Noah begs me to stop singing. Henry covers his ears and screams.
Do I sound that bad?
I sang a solo in elementary school for a Christmas program – it was just a few measures long – and nobody ran screaming from the tiny gymnasium, but that was 30+ years ago. And I guess most people in the audience were parents. They couldn’t leave.
Noah says my voice is sharp – so sharp that it hurts his ears. (To be fair, anything that’s out of tune hurts his ears to some degree.) Noah said if I have any chance of singing in tune, I need to sing lower because it better fits my range. Per Noah, I’m a tenor.
Maybe that’s been my problem? I need to sing what's typically a male part?
Noah and Henry are talented singers, and I’d like to say that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, but that’s not the case. I imagine God putting an arm around the boys and saying, “Hey guys, someone in your household needs to have a beautiful voice. Here you go. Take good care of this gift – and make sure to use it! Make a joyful noise!”
I’m glad they are singing. And I hope they never stop, even if they hope I do.
I interviewed Henry and Noah about their recent honors.
Henry, a sixth grader, was chosen as a member of the Opus Honor Choir. He was also chosen as a solo finalist. Noah, a sophomore, was selected as a member of All-State Chorus. Noah doesn’t sing tenor like me. He sings bass.
I'm incredibly proud of them.
It’s an all-state vocal competition for kids in grades 5-9. And only about 180 people make it roughly out of 2000. It’s in Ames, Iowa.
When is the Opus Honor Choir concert?
Sometime in mid-November. I’d need to check the date. It’s November 17.
How did you learn about Opus?
From Noah being in Opus. I’ve been to all four of his Opus concerts. Out of the five he could have been in. He didn’t try out when he was in fifth grade.
Why did you decide to try out for Opus?
I was inspired by Noah, and I did it last year. I was determined to try to make it this year since I didn’t make it last year.
How did you prepare for the audition?
Well, we practiced mainly in class, and I knew a little bit about it because we do a major scale and sing Country Tis of Thee. One song was in Italian. At home I didn’t practice a lot but that might have been a good thing because I didn’t get into any bad habits. But I did practice quite a bit.
Tell me about the audition process.
My music teacher, Mrs. Droe, had us over the weekend sometime sign up for a time to go to the Lincoln School cafeteria and have her there. Our auditions were recorded and sent in.
How did you think you did?
I thought I did pretty well considering Mrs. Droe thought I had improved a lot since last year. That was a good sign.
How did you find out you were selected for Opus? How did you feel?
Mrs. Droe invited everyone who auditioned down to the music room. She had everyone come in and then she announced the names of the 5th and 6th graders and the one solo finalist.
Who was the solo finalist?
The solo finalist was this guy named Henry Rouw. You might know him.
Are you nervous about trying out for a solo?
Yes. Definitely.
How did you feel?
I felt pretty happy considering I hadn’t made it to Opus before. At the time the solo finalist was announced, I didn’t know what a rare thing it was.
Has your school ever had a vocal finalist before?
Yes, me and Noah. That's crazy!
What are you doing now to prepare for the honor choir?
Every Wednesday after school me and the other Alto II go to the music room and we sing our parts for the songs along with Mrs. Droe. She plays the piano. Soon she will send home some music with us and will send us audio clips so we can sing and listen and practice at home.
Does anyone in your family sing?
Noah sings for All-State. Isaac sometimes sings. You sing and it makes my ears kind of hurt, but not as much as it makes Noah’s ears hurt.
Where did you get your vocal talent?
No clue. Probably the same place Noah got it.
What are you most looking forward to about this Opus experience in November?
Definitely the lunch! I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
Will you sing for me right now?
No!
Anything else you want to add?
No, not really.
All-State Chorus is a choir that consists of 600 of the best singers in the state.
When is the All-State Chorus concert?
I don’t know off the top of my head. Okay, it’s November 19.
Why did you decide to try out for All-State?
Partly because I wanted to – and I have a good voice, so I thought I had a chance.
Did you ever consider trying out for All-State Band?
No, not really.
How did you learn about All-State?
Mr. Kranz, my vocal teacher, told us about it.
How did you prepare for the audition?
I learned music and my quartet practiced five or six times a week. One song was in Latin and another in French Creole. Others were in English.
Tell me about the audition process.
Kranz put us into quartets and we had to all audition as a quartet, one person per voice part. One of each: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.
How did you think you did?
Everyone in our quartet made it, so I thought we did really well.
Were you nervous?
No.
How did you find out you were selected for All-State? How did you feel?
They put these big scrolls on the wall in the gym at Hampton-Dumont HS (which is in the middle of nowhere), and they rolled it down, and my name was on there. I was happy!
What are you doing now to prepare for the concert?
I have all of my music memorized. My vocal teacher will let me know what to do when the time comes.
Does anyone in your family sing?
Me, you do badly, and Henry does.
Where did you get your vocal talent?
No idea. Not from you. I don’t know how I got it.
What are you most looking forward to about this All-State experience in November?
Just doing it.
Will you sing for me right now?
No!
Anything else you want to add?
Oh yeah, the All-State concert is going to be televised on Iowa Public Television within a week after the concert.