Another state sanctioned music competition is happening later this month at Greene County High School.

Vocal Director Dave Heupel tells Raccoon Valley Radio they are one of the sites for the Iowa High School Music Association State Solo and Small Ensemble contest. Several high schools are coming to the event on Saturday, March 25th where students are competing against a rating system and not each other. 

As part of the contest, Heupel is requesting volunteers to be timekeepers and center monitors. He says timekeepers are individuals who are in the room with a stopwatch next to the judge and if the performer(s) go below a certain minimum time frame they get a deduction, or if they go over their allotted time, the timekeeper tells them to stop. Heupel describes what a center monitor does.

“Parents that haven’t done this before, they’re kind of nervous about it coming in but once they do it once, they’re set for the whole rest of the shift. Center manager is just basically give the info to the judge, announces the next soloist or group. While the performances are going on they stand outside of the door with a schedule and people come up to them over, and over, and over again, and say, ‘Who’s in there now? Wasn’t going on in there now?’” 

Heupel adds if anyone is interested in helping to volunteer to be a center monitor or a timekeeper, to reach out to the high school at 515-386-2188.