Thanks to much hard work and well-developed voices, five local students sang with an all-state choir in Denver on Feb. 6.

Among the students named to the choir were Cortez Middle School eighth-graders Chance Cody, Kale Hall and Cordell Baer and seventh-grader Beth Maez. Dolores Middle School eighth-grader Cael McHenry also was chosen.

To qualify for the all-state choir, students sent an audition tape containing a solo rendition of “My Country ’Tis of Thee” and a rendition of a sight-read piece to an all-state committee. An all-state committee selected the students based on the quality of their tapes.

“(Our all-state performers) worked really hard,” said CMS choir teacher Marla Sitton. “Competition is very tough, and that made it so much more rewarding because of how hard they all worked.”

Students selected to the all-state choir performed with other students from around the state at the Bellco Theatre in Denver.

“I’ve been in choir three years now,” said Hall, who also qualified for choir last year. Singing in the choir has been a fun.”

“I enjoy singing and listening to all the cool sounds that people can make,” added Baer, when asked what he enjoyed most about singing with the all-state choir.

When asked whether they plan to join the Montezuma-Cortez High School choir next year, Cody, Hall and Baer said that they would.

“Singing is a lot of fun,” said Cody. “I would like to keep doing it in the future.”