The anticipation filled the halls of the school yesterday as high school students from across Western Kansas patiently waited for their KMEA District Choir auditions.

Senior Rebecca Anderson said she was a little nervous, but she knew she would do fine.

“Just come prepared and make sure you know everything,” Anderson said. “If you believe in yourself, everything will be fine.”

Beloit High School junior Treyton Croisant felt very confident about his audition.

“I think a lot of people are nervous because they don’t realize that the judges don’t even see you anyways, so it’s all chill if they don’t know who you are,” Croisant said.

Sophomore Alisara Arial was thrilled for her audition because that meant she could “finally check it off the to-do list.”

“I didn’t want to wake up this morning because I was honestly really tired, but I was just thinking that I can now get this out of the way,” Arial said.

Daisy Hawkins, a student from Rawlins County High School, said she was both nervous and “severely excited” for her audition. Her advice is to drink plenty of water before your audition.

“When I got here, I started humming songs by Panic! at the Disco so I could use something with extreme vocal ranges to get my voice all warmed up,” Hawkins said. “After that, I went to the practice room and sang through the pieces 50 times to make sure I knew my part really well.”

Hill City High School sophomore Asa Handy said he had done a lot of competing before, so he wasn’t as nervous as he was excited. To prepare for his audition, he thought it through, but didn’t stress about it.

“You don’t want to think about it so much that you overwhelm your brain with all these nerves,” Handy said. “You’ve just got to keep your cool.”

“If I could give any advice, it would be to stay relaxed,” Handy said. “Just focus on what you’re singing. Don’t focus on the judges or the person who’s playing the recording. Just focus on the music.”

21cleiker@usd489.com