Odyssey Elementary School in Falcon School District 49 will be sending two choir classes to the Colorado Music Educators Conference at The Broadmoor Hotel on Jan. 24, 2013.Choir teacher Joanie Chapman said that her groups, called the major choir and minor choir, auditioned together during the 2011-2012 school year and were chosen from more than 100 choir groups statewide.ìWe were one of four elementary schools chosen,î Chapman said. ìWeíre the only elementary school singing from the Colorado Springs area. We are the first group from Falcon ever to be accepted to sing at CMEA at any level, including the middle and high school levels.îThe choir is comprised of about 110 students in second through fifth grades, she said. To be selected to perform, the students had to sing on video tape so judges could score them on several different key elements, including harmony, intonation and facial expressions.ìThey were looking for all-around performance,î she said. ìI was not on the audition tape. It was totally based on the kidsí performance, but it came back on me based on how well I can train them to get that going.ìThis is my first time auditioning, and a lot of people Iíve talked to said that itís rare to be chosen your first time.îChapman has been a music educator for 17 years and has worked at Odyssey for seven years. She also is a D 49 graduate who had attended school in the district since kindergarten.
