Current Events

Jazz Choir and Women’s Choir take third at CCC Vocal Jazz Festival

Mary Earp
March 20, 2013

The Jazz Choir and Women’s Choir each placed third at the Clackamas Community College Vocal Jazz Festival which took place at CCC on March 14.

According to Barbara Fontana, choir teacher, the fact that WLHS placed higher than former high-performing competitors is the real accomplishment.

“In my book the bigger news is that we beat out Sprague and South Eugene who have been fierce competitors in the past, along with Skyview,” Fontana said.

The Jazz Choir placed just behind West Salem and South Salem and competed against six other teams in the 6A division. The Women’s Choir was one of eight choirs competing in the 4A/5A division.

“[The placing of the Women’s Choir] is a great accomplishment because they were competing against choirs that had their own rhythm section,” Fontana said.

Because the Women’s Choir does not have this, members of the Jazz Choir aided them.

“The big shout out goes to our Jazz Choir rhythm section who also sat in and played for the women with essentially no rehearsal time together and did an outstanding job,” Fontana said. “So shout out to Nathan Weierich (junior), John Breen (senior), Sean Borne and River Wyatt-Marsh (sophomores) for their great work.”

Donate to wlhsNOW

$1030

$2000

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West Linn High School. Your contribution will allow us to continue to produce quality content by purchasing equipment, software, and continuing to host our website on School Newspapers Online (SNO). Additionally, donations will go towards paying for the physical editions of our Amplifier. Donations of $20 dollars (as of Oct. 15, 2025) or more will receive a subscription to our Amplifier, which will be mailed to the donator's address (donations made with the intention of purchasing a subscription CANNOT be anonymous).

About the Contributor

Mary Earp, Co Editor-in-chief

Perfectionist, outgoing and busy are just three of the many words that describe Mary Earp, senior. Earp heard about Amplifier from her eighth grade English teacher, and has been a part of the staff since her freshman year. Currently, she is one of the three Co-Editors-in-chiefs of the paper. Most people have goals that they would like to pursue in their life, and this is a true statement for Earp as well. “I want to be a doctor, and I know this sounds cheesy, but I would really like to make a difference in the world,” Earp said. After high school, her hopes include attending either Pomona College or University of California, Berkeley. Outside of school, Earp has a very hectic life which includes playing co-ed soccer, being a member of the school Mock Trial team and being the President of National Honor Society. She is traveling to New York in late October for an international Mock Trial Competition, Empire, where she is assigned to present the closing argument and both direct and cross examinations for the trial. Some highlights of Earp’s summer were hanging out with friends and taking a vacation to North Carolina, where she visited family and spent some time at the warm sunny beach. If Earp could visit any place two places in the world, she would choose “Italy and Machu Picchu, Peru, because the scenery is beautiful,” Earp said. Her favorite year in high school so far was junior year. “It challenged me the most and broadened my horizons,” Earp said. So far in her senior year, the class Earp most enjoys is AP Environmental Science, “It’s very interesting, enlightening, and I have a great teacher,” Earp said. Earp’s senior year is packed with AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus BC and AP English, leaving her with a long night of work to complete. The most challenging part of taking these classes “is all of the work involved,” Earp said. So far, her last year in high school has been hectic and full of work, yet she is excited and looking forward to all of the opportunities that lie ahead in her future.