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By Photo by Miranda Miller

Choir students from all elementary schools in the De Soto district performed with their choir instructors in the annual 2014 Elementary Choral Festival on April 10 in Mill Valley’s main gym.

All seven elementary school choirs joined together in the main gym for the eighth annual elementary choral festival on Thursday, April 10.

The students performed eight songs that the choirs had practiced separately before rehearsing together about an hour before the performance, and each director led the choirs for at least one song with the aid of accompanist Kristi Russell.

Mize Elementary choir director Linda McPherson said that the choirs gather for this festival every year because they view as a way to display all of the choirs at a community event.

“Our choirs do perform separately for each individual school, nursing homes and various other venues,” McPherson said. “However, eight years ago the elementary music teachers decided that hosting an elementary choral festival would be an excellent way to showcase the elementary choir programs and bring the community together.”

The choir directors begin planning for this performance a year in a advance. Together, they select the music and discuss how they will ensure that the music is taught the same way to each choir. In addition, they plan out the event’s timeline, write the program, meet with the accompanist, reserve the Mill Valley gym and plan out where the students can be found by parents after the performance.

McPherson likes both the opportunity this event provides to the students and their parents.

“It allows our elementary students to participate in something larger than just our own choir,” McPherson said. ” As an adult listening to 400-plus elementary students sing is priceless.”