PARKERSBURG – The temperature Monday morning wasn’t that nice southern bayou “Big Easy” sendoff of 84 degrees when the Parkersburg High School A Cappella Choir left New Orleans bound for home Sunday morning.

No, that temperature was more like the mid-50s but it was Parkersburg and it was home. And the A Cappella Choir did arrive with about all the gold that could have been awarded at the Worldstrides Heritage Festival’s National Choral Competition.

Four categories and four superior/gold ratings from three judges at the competition in which Parkersburg High School competed against 25 schools, according to Director Pamela McClain. “Chamber choir, men’s ensemble, women’s ensemble and a cappella choir were the four divisions,” she said Monday while trying to shake off the effects of riding about 20 hours on a charter tour bus.

“And…,” she continued, ” we received the Sweepstakes Trophy for the Highest Combined Scores for the event and two adjudication trophies from judges, which they were not required to award, but they did to us and that was for the women’s ensemble and chamber choir.

“All four of the groups scored a 90 and above,” McClain said of Parkersburg High School’s performance during the two-day event at the New Orleans Creative Art Center. “They were judged on rhythm, tonal accuracy, balance, blending, tuning, dynamics and expression.”

The awards gave a “Plaques for Gold” invitation to Parkersburg for the 2016 “Festival of Gold” where it will be able to compete in Chicago, San Francisco or Carnagie Hall in New York City in April.

The choir was granted the opportunity to sing at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, which McClain said was the “most historic and active cathedral in the country. We were able to perform ‘Requiem” in honor of the Hurricane Katrina victims.”

Conner Nesselrode, a four-year member of the A Cappella Choir, said hard work by all members brings out great performances. “We worked hard enough to where it brings out a bonding between members,” he said. “We all share the hard work in trying to bring a performance to life.

“We had the satsifaction of knowing we did the absolute best we could in this competition,” he said. “We work hard on holding notes and get the vowel shaping down quickly so we can work on things like expression during a song. We want to portray what we sing. We want to make the music come alive.”

McClain said the judges wanted more “than just toy soldiers on a stage. They wanted more than just people standing on a stage and singing. They wanted to see some life in the songs.

“These kids go way beyond classroom,” McClain said. “They support one another. They build one another up and it reflects on the stage. We pull kids from other clubs and sports.

“I had 97 kids. I would never have this many kids if I required them to only do choir. They realize the dedication and time requirement and they’re willing to make it. They’re smart people. They can manage their time in order to do this.”

Sam Miser, who has spent three years with A Cappella, said hard work is the only way. “We try to bring all this into perspective with persons our own age,” he said. “We know we have to outwork schools from bigger cities which have more in order to win.

“We apply skills such as the technical skills and the vowel shaping to produce a more mature sound for a high school.”

“I select the music to be as diverse as possible,” McClain said. “We do different languages and from historical time periods and styles. We received perfect scores on difficulty. We choose not to make it easy on ourselves. You must work hard in practice to perform well on stage.

“It was a breath of fresh air to know this group has carried on the reputation of the Parkersburg A Cappella Choir,” McClain said. “They stood and applauded when other groups received their awards. They showed why they can know they put forth the best this school has to offer.”