Fourteen Rachel Carson delegates will head to Richmond on April 24 for Virginia’s All State Choir.

All 29 Rachel Carson choir students who were chosen to audition for All State received an email on Feb. 20 from RCMS’s chorus teacher, Christen Reddig, announcing admission results. Fourteen out of the 29 students got into All State, an acceptance rate of 48%, compared to the average acceptance rate of 27% throughout Virginia.

From Jan. 10 to Jan. 24, students took turns auditioning in 15-minute slots, singing “A Song That Surrounds Us.” Everyone who auditioned was graded, on a scale of 100, on criteria like intonation (how in tune their notes are), rhythmic accuracy (were they on beat?), and diction (how they pronounce their words).

The All State Choir Concert takes place in April 26 in the Greater Richmond Convention Center, though rehearsals start as early as April 24. There will be two choirs performing: The Treble Choir, which are seventh-grade higher singers, and The Mixed Choir, which are eighth-grade higher singers and middle school lower singers.