By Chris Stanek ’19
THE ROUNDUP
The Honor Chorale took home second and third place plaques from the Worldstrides Festival in Anaheim, California.
The Brophy Men’s Choir, commonly called the Honor Chorale, travels to Anaheim, California to compete in the Worldstrides choir competition every other year.
The Worldstrides competition attracts men, women, and mixed choirs from across the country ranging from Florida, Georgia, Utah, and Montana.
The Honor Chorale enters into the Worldstrides competition under the category of 3A.
In this competition, there are two divisions: 2A and 3A.
2A is the division for the smaller schools and tends to have less competition, while 3A is the division for the bigger and more competitive schools. .
In the 3A division, Brophy’s choir competed against eight other men’s choirs from across the country.
This year, The Honor Chorale earned second place in the competition, and Mr. Paul Olson, Director of Choral Activities, said he could not have been more proud of his choir.
“We sang, we worked hard, we prepared well, and we walked away from that performance pleased about the outcome,” Mr. Olson said.
However, Mr. Olson was particularly excited about this year’s competition because for the first time ever both the Honor Chorale of Brophy and the Honor Choir of Xavier collaborated together to compete in the mixed choir section in Worldstrides.
Both of Brophy’s and Xavier’s choirs together took home third place out of the eighteen schools that were competing.
“We took third, which I think is remarkable because we only rehearsed together seven times,” Mr. Olson said. “These other choirs have been rehearsing since August and September, so I was really proud of both choirs after that performance.”
Along with the Worldstrides in Anaheim, the Honor Chorale goes to Disneyland as a fun reward the day after the competition.
Tim Cody ’19 said he really enjoyed his first year in Honor Chorale and found the trip to be an amazing experience.
“On Friday night, we performed with Xavier,” Cody said. “When we finished, we ran out of the auditorium and everyone was cheering and dancing with excitement.”
In addition to the competition, every choir director has to submit one person from each of their choirs to able to receive the “You Make The Magic” award.
The award is presented to a student who has shown a strength of character and passion for the arts as they pursue excellence.
Cameron MacKenzie ’19 won this award out of the 2700 students that were in the competition.
“It was surreal. They called my name and the Brophy guys around me exploded into cheers,” MacKenzie said. “I walked across that stage in front of thousands of cheering people and it felt to me like I was in a dream.”
MacKenzie and his fellow choir singers celebrated the award together and brought home both a second and third place from the Worldstrides Festival.
“I’m truly grateful and honored to have received this recognition,” MacKenzie said.
Mr. Olson said he was amazed by his Honor Chorale and proud of the way that they performed.
“I couldn’t have been more proud of how this group of young men handled themselves and I am very hopeful for the future to come for this choir,” Mr. Olson said.
