In the middle of April, the Concordia Lutheran High School (CLHS) Concert Choir traveled to Midway High School in Waco, TX to perform and compete at the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) State Vocal Music Championships.
CLHS had a total of five total choirs comprised of over 70 different students compete in two different categories at State – Sacred Ensembles and Large Ensembles. The combined ratings from the State Competition five entries and the results from the TAPPS State Solo Competition on Feb. 19th determined the overall vocal state champion. Points were awarded by receiving “superior” ratings as well as the level of difficulty of the music performed.
Concordia’s two sacred ensembles, Chamber Choir and Sacred 2, as well as the three large ensembles, Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorale, and the full Concert Choir, all earned a “Division 1 – Superior” rating for their performances from the judges.
Sacred Ensembles feature 24 or fewer members, while Large Ensembles are comprised of 8 or more members. Sacred Ensembles must perform two sacred pieces while the Large Ensembles perform three pieces, two of which must be from the UIL Prescribed Music List. Large Ensembles also have the option to do a sight-reading portion to earn additional points toward the final total.
The three large ensembles all participated in the sight-reading portion of the contest, and all three again earned a “Division 1 – Superior” rating for their sight-reading portion. Earning the “Superior” rating for both performance and sight-reading also gave the three large ensembles the “Sweepstakes” award!
When all the results were finalized, Concordia was named the 2024 TAPPS 6A State Vocal Music Champion for the 4th consecutive year! The Crusaders finished with 1,099 points, which is the most Concordia has earned in school history according to available school records and bested 2023’s previously set record by 33 points. Senior choir students competed a rare feat of winning State four years in a row, the last time that happened was from 2013-2016.
Inside the Numbers: The 1,099 point total is the highest out of all six TAPPS divisional State Champions (6A down to 1A). Concordia earned the most points across all six divisions of TAPPS in the Small/Solo competition (325) and had the second most points in the Large competition (774), just behind TAPPS 5A school, Tyler Grace Community School’s 791.
(TAPPS includes over 200 private/parochial schools across Texas and the divisions are based on school enrollment with TAPPS 6A featuring schools over 395 students.)
The five choirs that performed at State each performed college-level music at a very high level throughout the competition, with several judges commenting about how they sound like a college choir. These young men and women have put in a lot of work inside and outside of school to get to maintain our standard of excellence, and we could not be prouder of this wonderful achievement.
The state championship is Concordia’s 8th Vocal Music title in the last 12 years, with three of those years being state runner-up and the other year being canceled because of Covid. Dating back to 2008-2009 school year, in the last 16 years, Concordia has been Vocal Music State Champs x11 times!
To finish the State trip, the choir was blessed to sing for the 8 am service at Immanuel Lutheran Ministries in Temple, TX on Sunday, April 14. Following the service, the choir traveled to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio to enjoy a day at the park (with no lines!!) in celebration of their championship.
The entire weekend was full of amazing memories and performances, and we are grateful for the blessings and opportunities that have been given to our students and school. As the choir always does after our performances, we close with words from the Doxology - Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings Flow!