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Gilfoil ’10 Makes All-State Chorus

Senior Patrick Gilfoil will perform tenor in this year’s Missouri Choral Director Association’s All-State Choir in December and January. He was one of only 16 to be accepted from the St. Louis Metro 8 District Choir. The St. Louis District is one of 11 in the state.

The road to state began with the district audition, said Gilfoil. Gilfoil, senior Patrick Nacanaynay, and sophomores Adam Hunn and Sam Herbig were the only members of St. Louis U. High to attempt districts. All four made district chorus.

The blind audition for districts took place on Oct. 10 at DeSmet Jesuit High. Students were expected to prepare one song, which they delivered to a panel of judges who faced the wall, evaluating vocal quality alone. Then, students were expected to “spot read” a few measures, singing a song they had not prepared in front of the panel, said Gilfoil. Altogether, the District Choir is made up of a little over 100 students.

The task of the St. Louis Metro 8 District Choir is to perform a concert at Lindenwood University’s new Performing Arts Center.

The audition for All-State consists of only one standard song, “My spirit Sang All Day,” by Gerald Finzi. The students each audition individually, singing their chosen part to a track of the other three.

To prepare for districts, the four who were planning to audition broke from the rest of the Varsity Chorus class to work with Jerry Quinn, who has accompanied the chorus on the piano for the SLUH Choir Concert and served as a part-time vocal and musical clinician for about seven years, since each had his own song to practice.

For the state audition, however, even though most of the class was not involved, chorus teacher Joseph Koestner led the whole class through “My Spirit Sang All Day.”

Koestner also helped the singers prepare in a different capacity. “Doc (Koestner) is instrumental because he has to go through all of the gymnastics and submit the proper paperwork and all that kind of stuff to make sure that we are involved,” said Quinn. “And then of course he has to get the music, and he has to arrange the auditions. He’s very, very important…Koestner’s one of the very best Choral Directors in the city. We’re very fortunate to have him.”

All other preparation for All-State was left to Gilfoil on his own. Koestner provided him with a copy of the track which included both the “music minus one” as well as the complete work.

“I don’t know if it was just me, but I didn’t find it to be too difficult of a song,” said Gilfoil.

Gilfoil’s singing career began in the third grade when he started to sing in his parish’s Children’s Choir and then later the Teen’s Choir. Besides taking classes from Koestner, the only other vocal training Gilfoil has received began sophomore year when he began weekly lessons with a professional vocal trainer.

“His training with (the vocal teacher) shows,” said Quinn.

The All-State Choir culminates in a weekend concert at Tantarra Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks, open to all to attend.

*by Luke Chellis*

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