LOS ALAMITOS, CA – As the school year wraps up, students make preparations for their next year’s schedule. For students in or interested in choir, trying for choir auditions is next on their roster.

For people new to choir, Los Alamitos High School offers seven different choirs for students to join. Auditions, which are happening this month, are required for all choirs except for Axcent and Xtreme. Many incoming freshmen join either Axcent, the novice treble voice show choir, or Xtreme, the tenor/bass show choir, as their introduction to the choir program. However, every choir is open to all grades; it just depends on one’s skill.

Auditions differ depending on the choir. Xpressions, the mixed voice concert choir, only requires vocal auditions. Every other choir needs students to demonstrate their skills in both vocal and dance auditions.

“The dance audition shows off how quickly one can pick up choreography, which is a helpful skill in choir,” said Xtreme, ConneXion, Xpressions, and SoundFX member Chason Bytel.

Vocal and dance auditions are composed of digital and in-person components; students had to submit videos of themselves displaying their talent to the choir Google Classroom by May 7. In-person tryouts are needed to further evaluate potential candidates. In-person auditions will be taking place on May 23 and May 25 in room 803 after school at 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Students trying out for tenor/bass choirs will have auditions on May 23, and students auditioning for sopranos/altos will come in on May 25. Auditions are open to both returning members of choir and new students wanting to dip their feet in the water.

While judges are obviously assessing students’ abilities in singing and dancing, they evaluate the student as a whole to determine how the student can benefit the choir. In other words, factors like the student’s personality, motivation, and enthusiasm are considered in auditions.

“Our directors want to see the person as well, not just the performer,” Bytel said. “They’ll love you for you first before they love your talent.”

Los Al’s award-winning choir is not only built by the talent of the students but by the students themselves. The members’ commitment, passion, and effort make each show great, and the auditions scope out students with these same values. As long as you’re eager to learn and improve while still being confident in yourself and your peers, you’ll be a perfect fit for Los Al’s choir.

“Self-confidence is one of the most important tools in choir,” Ian Chambers, a junior in FX and Xtreme said. “Self-confidence opens up doors to skills that maybe you didn’t know you had.”

For more information on Los Al’s choir, go to the Los Al choir website.