The SIS Choir team, the SIS Ambassadors, received Platinum for participating in the KAIAC Large Group Choir Festival on Feb. 26 at YISS. The competition put SIS firmly in the upper performing category of competing schools and, under the direction of Mary Kate Maney, choir teacher, has successfully performed another year of top-of-the-league choir performance. 

“It wasn’t easy,” Junu Hwang (10), SIS Ambassador, said. “We had to go against the likes of GSIS, KIS, and SFS, which we know are competent schools. The competition was expectantly fierce, and we had to perform multiple songs, but we managed to succeed and live up to our expectations.”

There are three awards, or “standards,” that are given out: the Silver Standard, Gold Standard, and Platinum Standard. This year, two schools were ranked in Silver, five in Gold, and four in Platinum. The Platinum standard included the SIS ambassadors, GSIS Knight Singers, KIS Blue Harmony, and KIS Phoenix Chamber Choir. Middle school choirs mainly populated the other standards. 

To compete against their rivals, the SIS Ambassadors performed three different songs: “Kyrie” by Franz Schubert, “Time” by Jennifer Lucy Cook, and “Hope Lingers On” by Lissa Schneckenburger. All three songs are noted to have some degree of challenge, requiring precise breath control and pitch accuracy among a number of other required skills to perform successfully. 

The results speak for the skill of the members of the SIS Ambassadors and their ability to perform under pressure. Their achievement is commendable and a continuation of their multi-year streak in the Platinum Standard.