Anna Reed is Regionals Bound
On January 13 and 14, 2023, senior vocalist Anna Reed traveled to Solanco High School to participate in the annual District 7 Chorus Festival. After months of work and preparation with choral director Samantha Garner, Reed’s audition was successful and earned her a spot in regionals.
Vocal director Samantha Garner summarizes Districts as “an unbelievable learning experience for the singer and for me as a director. Students are working with 200 enthusiastic singers and a world-renowned director. They learn new warm-ups that preserve and protect their voice, they make new friends from other districts, and making music together is a fun experience.”
Reed’s vocal part is known as an alto, “Altos have a much more rich tone to their voice than a soprano. What makes their part tricky is if they listen to a recording of a song, it’s much harder to pick out their part than it would be to pick out the melody,” Garner describes.
Since her sophomore year, Reed has been a part of: KDettes, Vocalis, and general chorus. Garner teaches them all.
Reed has also been an active member of the Drama Club, is the current Vice President of Thespian Society, and has been in the cast for The Little Mermaid, Seussical, Swingtime Canteen, Clue, and 42nd Street. Lastly, Reed is a member of the Varsity Club, Mini-THON, and the National Honor Society (NHS).
Preparation for the Districts competition began in the early fall, where she worked closely with Garner to prepare for the event.
“I worked with Garner over a couple of months and practiced with recordings at home myself and practiced the excerpts we thought would be audition pieces,” Reed stated.
The path to her success at Districts was not easy with the possibility of straining and tiring out her voice. To combat the strenuous activity, Reed said she used “honey and water” as a solution.
Reed chose to participate in Districts as a way to improve and practice her audition skills.
The experience had an impact on Reed and introduced her to many other artists in the music community. Reed elaborated, “There are so many wonderful people out there, just because you don’t experience it daily doesn’t mean that you mean any less.”
Reed also expresses how thankful she was for the new friends she made along the way. These friends come from the alto section, the group she ate lunch with, and her roommate who she shared a room with over the weekend.
Garner spoke about how she enjoys Districts and what the program has to offer for students. She shares how proud she is of Reed, “Anna’s success is solely due to her hard work. She practices every single night and asks for help often. I am beyond pleased with her dedication to this.”
By sending Reed to Regionals, the school is full of pride and is proud of Anna for her accomplishment and hard work.
Looking ahead, Reed has the next month or so to prepare for Regionals in early spring taking place at Mountain View Middle School in Cumberland Valley Schoo District.
“I had a great time making the Districts concert with other voice parts, this level is absolutely amazing to work with. The sound is so good! I can’t wait for Regionals coming up,” she said.
