This year has definitely been an adventure for the Vista Hills Chorus!  We have seen some serious growth this year, what with the new director, new chorus leaders, new competition songs, new members, and all-new (and shiny) ribbons as of just a few weeks ago.  We can officially call ourselves a multi-award-winning chorus - and we're pretty excited for that!  We are putting all the enthusiasm and energy into talking scores and learning several new songs post-contest.  There's even a rumor of a double quartet debuting in Queen Creek, AZ, in just a few weeks!  

Of course, 'tis the season for change, too.  We are incredibly grateful to our outgoing Management Team; Team Coordinator Gloria ("Gramma" to me), Secretary Jennifer, and Member at Large Nikki have all served very successful terms and it is through their leadership that we've been so successful this year.  Returning to the Team are Alicia as Financial Coordinator and Lola as Secretary, while we add Kelley as Logistics Coordinator, Tabitha as Member at Large, and yours truly as Team Coordinator.  We are excited to be stepping into these roles and look forward to furthering the chorus's many successes.  

- Kaidee Metcalfe ​

Wow! What a wild and wonderful ride the past few weeks have been for the Vista Hills Chorus!  A few days after we submitted our last article, I got a text from our darling Director that was literally just a photo.  No context, no explanation, just the photo.  A photo of what, you may ask?  Her certificate of achievement announcing that she had passed the Directors Certification Program and attained the status of Certified Director.  Melanie is a regular reminder of what it means to lead and inspire. She has been with us a little under a full year, but we are quite proud to call her our own! We've decided to keep her for a while if she'll have us.  

And that was only the first exciting thing to have happened this month, in and amongst various rehearsals and discussions and slicktexts.  The second and fifth exciting things came in the form of contest weekend.  Most of us went to the very early morning mic testing chorus on Friday and stayed for as many quartets as we could before heading off to rehearsal; we even got back in time to cheer for our new regional quartet champions, including our friends in SoloVoce.  

Some of us may have stayed up a little late on Friday night, but Saturday morning came early and we were absolutely in the moment.  Taking the stage for the first time under Melanie's direction and with four brand new singers on stage was... intense? nerve-wracking? exciting?  Definitely emotional.  And being the first person in line, I had zero warning before Connie called my name as I walked on stage; if that didn't just about make my performance, I'm not sure what did.  There is something just downright thrillifying knowing you have friends in the audience as you walk on stage.  The energy and enthusiasm that greeted us carried us into one of our most successful competitions, a performance that earned us our first and long-coveted Most Improved medal with an incredible 101 point jump.  Breaking into the 500s, 2nd place in the A Division, and 5th overall left us a teensie bit starry-eyed.  Personally? I can't wait to see what happens next year. 

- Kaidee Metcalfe ​

We've all heard the phrase, "one night a week hobby."  At this point, VHC is pretty sure that's a big ol' fib, as February has been packed sardine-style with chorus activities.  Not that we would ever dream of complaining; after all, we do what we do for the love of music! 

February started off strong with an all-day rehearsal; we were thrilled to work the uptune with Kim Vaughn on sound and Lynne Smith on visual story telling.  The number of lightbulbs that went off in just that one day is simply unknowable, and we carried all of that energy into the rest of the month as the sections played musical chairs in our downtime.  We duetted (and trioed) together to fine-tune our accuracy, awareness, and all those dang vowels.  Near the end of the month, Kim came back up to work with us on the ballad, posing the question, "What do you have to do when you can't hear someone else? You have to trust."  Willing to share her own unique nuggets of truth, Lynne had a lunch date with Melanie and our visual team leaders, Jennifer and Ann.  The very next night, the Lead section drove to Melanie's house to meet with Kim, working to unify their sound and tonal production.  Talk about "busy."  

We have been very, very lucky this month to work with such wonderful coaches and individuals. Every moment we get to spend learning from them is another step forward for the chorus.  Here's to sharing the stage with all of our Region 21derful friends and the new friends we'll make in Region 11!  

- Kaidee Metcalfe ​