By: Sydney Bennett
Oak Street Singers won Grand Champions at its first competition of the season, Rock Bridge Show Choir Festival. Northmen News caught up with choir director Chris Droegemueller to discuss what led up to their victory.
Northmen News: How did Oak Street prepare?
Chris Droegemueller: We have class every other day and we started way back in August. We had a camp and did some of the numbers at the fall concert.
NN: What were your expectations for the whole competition?
CD: I knew they were going to do well I knew it’s a great group and they sing well. I knew that they could do what they did. It was very crazy and very close; we only beat them by 3 points.
NN: Were you surprised with the outcome?
CD: Yes and no. I wouldn’t say surprised, I was thrilled with the outcome. Oak Street is always a great group and they always compete well.
NN: How would you describe the experience of the competition?
CD: Competing for Oak Street is like competing at state for a sports event. The crowd is screaming for you the entire time, there were people giving standing ovations throughout the entire show, they scream for every soloist; it’s not your average choir concert . . . people in the audience are cheering for you the entire time and getting you pumped up to perform . . .
NN: Have you been to this competition before?
CD: Yes, this is our third year to go. And every other year that we’ve been there, Pleasant Hill High School has won and this year we finally beat them by 3 points.
NN: What does it mean to have placed?
CD: It’s tough to have placed. It means that we were in the top 6 choirs that scored highest all day. And it’s a pretty big honor to have placed in the top six; out of 22 choirs, that’s pretty good . . . we’ll compete with the same choirs next time with 6 different judges, so it could be a completing different outcome.