If you are unfamiliar with sight-singing, it is when a student is presented with a piece of music or a passage of music that they have never seen before and are asked to sing it on sight using the correct pitches and rhythms. “This is a skill that we work on in every single class, every day of the year,” said Dana Self, Upper School Performing Arts Teacher. “Some students figure the sight-singing puzzle out very quickly; others take a bit more time to develop their skills. But sight-singing is something I feel very passionate about as it is a skill that these young singers can use for the rest of their lives, whether it be in a college choir, church choir, community choir, or simply picking up a piece of sheet music just for fun.”
The competition to make it to round one started back in late August. One hundred singers completed 18 different sight-singing assessments this year. Following the completion of exercise #18 in mid-May, the top-scoring students in each choir were eligible to participate in round one. Round one was completed as a closed round (no spectators), with the top two students in each choir advancing to the final round.
The students participating in the final round included:
Mason Bedell ’23
Armaan Chandak ’24
Samantha Iken ’22
Alice Ma ’23
Jaylah McMurtry ’21
Emily Podgorny ’23
Iken and McMurtry were the two students remaining in the sixth round. After two very challenging sight-singing examples, Iken was named the 2021 Grand Champion.
Following her victory, Iken said, “I truly enjoy sight-singing every time I do it. Now that we’re doing the sight-singing bee, it only adds to my excitement. Music is very much my passion, and being able to have Mr. Self guide me along my way is truly a blessing. I can’t wait for next year!”
Congratulations to all the participants!
