After weeks of preparation and practice, the Fresno Pacific Choral Festival finally arrived for campus choral groups, Oct. 15. The first in a series of festivals to come, the high school concert choir and ensemble left before fifth period to board a bus, which drove to Dan Pisano’s Hall at Clovis North Educational Center.

The multi-choir event featured groups from all over Fresno, who performed for each other, encouraging a “learning experience” atmosphere. During each performance, an adjudicator recorded comments about possible improvements. The campus choir performed “Exultate Justi,” “I Want Jesus” and “The Father Will Dance.”

The event gave the groups their first chance to sing in front of a large audience.

“The choir sang very well on a remarkable stage,” director Michael Ogdon said. “Our blend was remarkable, and the songs performed showed diversity. The group had only had one public performance this year prior to the festival, and this was a much more challenging experience.”

Despite the raised stakes, choir members say they were satisfied with their first “big time” performance.

“I think the concert choir did really good for our second performance,” senior Olyvia Franklin said. “We all discussed in class how we felt it went, and one of the biggest responses was that we were nervous.”

After the concert choir finished their performance, schools from around the valley performed different songs with topics ranging from love to picking flowers.

“I thought Clovis North’s women’s chorale had a good blend. They sounded beautiful,” Franklin said. “And Clovis East had a loud sound. I was amazed. One of the pieces that they did was composed by themselves [and] it was a gorgeous piece.”

For senior Aaron Kroeker, the concert venue added to the event’s fun.

“I always enjoy going to the Fresno Pacific festival because it’s a good opportunity to hear other choirs and get feedback on our choir’s performance,” Kroeker said. “I’ve sung there before and I really like their facility. I also enjoyed listening to Clovis North’s choirs. They had a lot of talent and were one of my favorite choirs to listen too.”

Franklin says the experience has helped the choirs see both their development and potential for improvement.

“Both choirs still have work to do but we have come a long way since the beginning of the year,” Franklin said. “I am going to miss going back next year, it was an amazing experience.”

For Kroeker the experience centered around the Fresno Pacific choir group.

“The greatest pleasure perhaps was getting another chance to hear the FPU choir. They always perform very well and they provide a good example for other choirs to follow,” Kroeker said. “I always see other people that I know at these festivals and once again I’ve been shown how music brings people together.”

The choir will next perform at the Fresno City College for their last festival of the fall, Oct. 28, competing against Buchanan, Clovis West, Kingsburg High and others at 9 a.m.

They will also hold “Dessert and a Concert” for the ensemble, Praisong, and jazz band on Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. The event, free if attendees bring a dessert, will be held in Ground Zero.

For more information, e-mail Ogdonor read the Oct. 9 article, Choir concert gets groups festival-ready.