The Pinecrest Chamber Ensemble and Sotto Voce choirs came home with gold following performances last week at the Worldstrides Heritage Performance Festival in Washington, D.C.

“Both choirs received gold awards recognizing their high level of performance, with the Chamber Ensemble receiving two nearly perfect scores,” said Bob Boone, president of the Pinecrest Choral Boosters Club. “They literally blew away the competition.”

The choirs were two of a number of competitors from across the nation who took part in the April 14 event, where they performed at the George Mason University Center for the Arts.

“I think the Pinecrest choral program deserves recognition for their fine performance,” Boone said. “As a result of their high awards, they have been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall next year in New York.

“We are very fortunate to have one of the best high school choirs in the country right here in our backyard.”

The choirs received four awards, with the Chamber Ensemble earning the Most Outstanding Choral Group designation for best overall performance. Both groups won the Sweepstakes Award, given to the schools with the highest combined scores that brought more than one ensemble. Each choir also earned an adjudicator’s award as a result of its performances.

Director of Choral Studies Erin Plisco said the event was a “great learning experience” for her students.

“Everything went very well, and the choirs received some valuable feedback from the judges,” Plisco said. “The Chamber Ensemble earned a score of 98 out of 100, and the Sotto Voce group received a 96. The students were so excited, and some of them lost their voices cheering at the awards ceremony.”

The Chamber Ensemble is represented by Pinecrest High School upperclassmen “with a few sophomores and freshmen,” Plisco said, while the Sotto Voce choir is composed of female students from grades nine through 12. Each choir has 55 members.

Now in her second year as director, Plisco said the choirs excelled due to a combination of talent and drive.

“I am slightly biased, but these students have been successful due to their hard work and devotion to music,” she said. “That passion, plus being incredibly focused for high school students, is what sets them apart. I’m really proud of them.”

The choirs will perform at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2013.

“The event is called the ‘Festival of Gold,’ a noncompetitive concert that the choirs were invited to as a result of their scores,” Plisco said. “It’s like an honors performance and represents the ceiling of that particular festival track.”

Local audiences will have an opportunity to hear the choirs perform next month at their annual spring concert. The event will be held at 7 p.m. May 19 and at 3 p.m. May 20 in the Robert E. Lee Auditorium on the Pinecrest campus.

“Both the Chamber Ensemble and the Sotto Voce choirs will perform, and we will feature the Pinecrest High School concert choir as well,” Plisco said. “Audi-ences will hear what the students have been working on last semester, which consists of an eclectic range of music, both sacred and secular, from the Renaissance to the contemporary age. We invite you to join us for two performances of exceptional choral music.”

Admission prices are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and students.

Contact John Lentz at (910) 693-2479 or jlentz@the pilot.com.