My name is Jessica Macharia, this is my fourth year with AMP, and last month, I had the honor of attending GMEA’s All-State Chorus. Mrs. Aisha encouraged me to audition for the chorus and I was fortunate enough to make it through both rounds. Ms. Hannan Davis, my AMP Academy voice instructor, worked tirelessly to make sure I knew the music left from right. It was three days worth of work filled rehearsals and concluded with a large performance. Going into the first rehearsal, I did not know what to expect, but I was excited and a little nervous. We were sitting by number and voice part, but no one from the same school sat next to each other so it gave us the opportunity to meet new people. 
Our conductor, Ken Burg, was very outgoing and he made our time there very enjoyable and not tedious. He did not only make us better musicians, but better people in general; he taught us many life lessons/rules such as “Do the right thing at the right time”, and helped us bring the emotions we feel in our world into our music. One of the songs that we performed, “I Choose The Light”, was composed by Ken and the lyrics were written as a poem by his son, Michael. I really enjoyed singing this song because not only were the notes and blending marvelous to hear, the message of the song was great too. It was about how we live in a world of darkness, doubt and rue, and we as this generation want and need to choose the light and share it with the world.
I am truly grateful for Ms. Aisha, Ms. V, and all of my AMP family who came out to support me and cheer me on. Over all the experience was amazing and I am excited for future years and to participate with other members of the AMPlify choirs as well!