High school choir: La Grande choir wins fifth straight state title

LA GRANDE — Another year, another state title for the La Grande High School a cappella choir.

And another record.

The 40-member choir won its fifth straight state title in the Oregon School Activities Association Class 4A classification on Saturday, May 4, at the state choir championships in Corvallis.

“I’m proud of them and happy for them," said Kevin Durfee, the director of the choir and a music teacher at the high school and La Grande Middle School.

La Grande is now the first school to win five straight choir titles in the class 4A category, which is for schools with 311 to 607 students. No other school has won more than three straight state titles in the Class 4A category.

La Grande won decisively with 292 points. Estacada was second with 244 points and St. Helens took third with 236 points.

The triumph of La Grande's a cappella choir is especially noteworthy considering that five weeks ago Durfee feared that his choir was not ready for state. The choir had just won the Greater Oregon League district title to qualify for state but Durfee was worried.

“We were not sharp," he said.

So concerned was Durfee that he replaced two of his choir’s five-song repertoire with two new ones he felt his singers would handle better — Hela Rotan, arranged by Ken Steven, and The Pasture, arranged by Z. Randell Stroope. The move was a gamble considering the choir had just four weeks to master the new numbers. The move paid off because his singers were awarded strong marks for how they performed them at state, Durfee said.

The director said he was impressed with the significant progress his students made in the months leading up to state.

“They really buckled down and focused," Durfee said.

Durfee credits his choir with again doing a good job of telling stories via the songs they performed.

“We want the audience to feel something," he said.

The choir’s final song at state, The Pasture, was directed by co-conductor Kascie Durfee, Kevin's wife.

“She did a wonderful job of drawing a good sound out of our singers," Durfee said.

A trip to remember

La Grande’s strong performance at state is also a credit to a tour his students made of Western Oregon in mid April when it visited choirs at Portland State University and the University of Oregon.

“It showed them how good they can become," Durfee said.

During their visits, La Grande met with Ethan Sperry, director of choral activities at PSU, and Sharon Paul, department head of music performance at the University of Oregon, two highly respected names in the world of choral music, according to Durfee.

La Grande senior Lindsey Butler said the experience benefited the choir in a big way.

“It helped us learn what our potential is," she said.

Shiloh Lynch, also a senior, said the choir benefited by having outside experts who had never heard the choir provide tips.

“It helped to have new ears listen to us," she said.

Streak started six years ago

La Grande’s streak dates back to 2018 when it tied Molalla for first place at the state choir championships. The choir then went on to win outright titles in 2019, 2022 and 2023 before winning again on May 4.

The OSAA state choir championships were canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

La Grande has now won nine state titles in the past 65 years, claiming the title in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, all under the direction of Kevin and Kascie Durfee. This is the second time La Grande has won three straight state choir titles — the school won state championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003 under the direction of Michael Frasier.

Under the direction of the Durfees, the Tigers have also won three second-place trophies since 2009 at state.

This means there have been only two years since 2009 when La Grande has not placed in the top two at the state competition.

Durfee said his choir has a good chance to again be strong in 2024-25 because it will have many students returning.

“We look good for next year, he said.