Kaylee Davis
Writer
Junior Katie McPherson,

Alto 1 for the MHS vocal pro-
gram, performed in the All-
State Oklahoma Music Edu-
cators Association (OkMEA)

Ensemble from Wednesday,
Jan. to Saturday, Jan. 20.
In order to become a part
of the Travel Ensemble,
McPherson partook in three
sets of auditions.
“Third round auditions
were my biggest challenge

because of how nerve rack-
ing it becomes,” McPherson

said. “Fortunately, working
with Mrs. Pitts helped me feel
enough confidence in myself
to make it through.”

This year was McPher-
son’s second time perform-
ing at All-State as well as her

third year as one of Marlow’s
Entertainers.

After completing these
auditions, she spent the four

days previous to the ensem-
ble’s performance honing in

her singing abilities and per-
fecting the music.

“I hoped that I would
grow as a singer, learn new
things and meet new people,”
McPherson said. “God gave
me the amazing opportunity
to achieve all of those things.”
McPherson has been a
member of the vocal program
at Marlow for five years and
has gone through significant
growth because of it.
“Vocal has taught me that

having confidence in your-
self can make or break a per-
formance,” McPherson said.

“No matter what happens, I
know that I will always have
vocal as a safe space.”
As well as the benefits she
has personally gained through
the program, McPherson has

also benefited fellow vocal
members.
Junior Emily Trimble is
one of these people who finds
inspiration in McPherson’s
character.
“Katie is very dedicated
to what she does and takes it
very seriously,” Trimble said.

“Katie comes to class every-
day ready to go above and be-
yond what she needs to do to

achieve her goals.”
McPherson will continue
with her successes in the vocal program as she puts her
years of experience to use.