After the many challenging hours of practice, the high school Celebration Choir choral group, under the direction of director Michael Ogdon and accompanist Kim Schapansky, will participate in Fresno State’s Invitational Choral Festival, Oct. 24. This three-day event brings choirs from Bakersfield to Merced, from elementary to university to celebrate the choral art at every educational level.

The festival, located on the Fresno State campus, started yesterday, Oct. 23, but the Celebration Choir will make their appearance at noon today.

While the festival is held every year on the Fresno State campus, the FC choir alternates every year between the current festival and the festival held at Fresno Pacific University. Director Ogdon provides insight on the upcoming event.

“Today we are going to Fresno State,” Ogdon said. “This time we are only taking the choir group. This festival is every year but we only go to it every other year. Although sometimes we attend the Fresno Pacific festival.”

The choir goes every other year so they can split between supporting what is going on at Fresno Pacific and give students an opportunity to see different schools and participate in different events.

Like many musical competitions like it, the Invitational offers school groups the opportunity to perform music of their own choice for adjudication by choral experts. Judges for this year?s festival include local musician James Foxx, Kathrine Smith out of Southern California and Greg Gentry from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“The whole festival started yesterday and goes through tomorrow, but our participation is today at noon,” Ogdon. “We are a set of five different high schools, some from Bakersfield and from Selma and then ourselves. In fact, during the three-day event, we will participate against schools which have over 2,000 students.”

The campus choir is scheduled to be the first of the afternoon session that included groups from Monache High School of Porterville, Centennial of Bakersfield and Selma High. The Celebration Choir presented three selections ? ?It is a Good Thing to Give Thanks Unto the Lord? by Kirke Mechem, the Lord?s Prayer, ?Notre Pere? by Maurice Durufle and ?De Profundis? by Russell Robinson.

Junior choral student, Madison Seib expresses her excitement for the festival.

“I’m really excited for today, I think it’s going to be really fun,” Seib said. “I remember going to the Fresno Pacific festival last year, so I’m ready for it this year. I’ve done choir all three years of high school because I like to sing and form great friendships in that class.”

Senior and third year choir member, Dustin Swain explains his reasons for staying in choir and attending the festivals.

“I’m excited for the festival today because we get out of school early today,” Swain said. “I like choir because it is an alternative to taking a bible class, and Mr. Ogdon just puts a lot more excitement into teaching the Bible. My sophomore year, only the men’s choir went to the Fresno State festival, but it was still pretty cool.”

For more information read: Choral department holds first performance.

These authors can be reached via Twitter: @goob_14 and @_sarapeterson. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.

For more news, read the Oct. 17 article, Kearney Park to host 24th Civil War Revisited.