Pacific Ridge Students Selected for Prestigious Choir

Pacific Ridge School sophomore Catherine Ames and junior Benjamin DeSoto Mayor have been selected for the 2013 Southern California Honor Choir. Of the more than 600 students who auditioned for the choir, only 175 were selected. Ames and Desoto Mayor will represent Pacific Ridge School during the choir’s November 23 concert in Los Angeles.

Professional choral directors Dr. Amanda Quist (Westminster Choir College) and Dr. Jeffrey Benson (San Jose State University) will direct the women’s and men’s choirs respectively. This capstone concert will come after just a handful of rehearsals, and will include songs in four different languages. The challenging material and limited practice time calls for vocally talented students who are also fast learners, and the selection process reflects as much.

During an audition process that Ames describes as one of her “hardest but most rewarding” experiences, students were asked to memorize and perform an Italian aria in addition to tests in sight-reading, tonal memory and range.

Ames and Desoto Mayor are both members of the Pacific Ridge High School Vocal Ensemble, the Pacific Ridge A Cappella Ensemble, and are involved in school musicals.

They are the second and third students to be selected for the choir in the school’s history. Pacific Ridge School alumna Meghan Bacher '13 performed with the choir last year.

–Pacific Ridge School press release