As he arrives at the school, he can already feel his nerves reaching to the maximum. He can’t help but think that everyone around him is a little bit better but he continues to go over his musical pieces in his head.

At last, they call his name and it’s show time. He takes a deep breath and is ready to perform his best for the judges.

Junior Benjamin Kachungu was the only choir student to advance it to region choir on Oct. 24.

“It’s stressful because there is a lot of good people who you’re going against,” he said.

At first, Kachungu said he did not plan on auditioning.

“I would have never have expanded my horizons and tried out for All State until Mrs. (Josi) Alexander said ‘You should do it (because) you know you’re pretty good,’” he said. “Mrs. A saw my potential and really thought I could do well, so she helped me with my rehearsals all the time.”

All-State participants auditioned behind curtains.

“What takes the pressure off is that the judges can’t see you,” Kachungu said. “So you have the confidence were all you do is just sing and everything else will take care of itself.”

Senior Joshua Young said that Kachungu carried on the tradition of making regional.

“It’s nice how our choir continues to make (it to) round three every year,” he said. “I always believed that Ben could do it, it’s just that he needed the push and Mrs. A was that drive to push him to get that far and excel as he did.”

When Kachungu first found out his results, he said he was surprised.

“I didn’t do my best that I could do,” he said. “There was a lot of nerves so when I found out I made it, I was really happy.”

Singing is his passion.

“I’ve grown up around music,” he said. “It’s always something I wanted to do.”

Basketball is another activity Kachungu plays in.

“Ben is a wonderful smart kid,” JV Boys Basketball Coach Keith Howell said. “He plays well and is becoming a tougher person as the season passes.”

Howell said he would joke about Kachungu singing.

“I knew Ben was gifted but I would always tease him about him being in choir,” he said.

When Kachungu finally performed with the region choir on Nov. 21, he said it was a great performance.

“I always thought we had a good choir program but everybody (else) was really good and I’d never been on a stage that (tall),” he said. “I was happy I was there.”

Currently, he is a bass leader in chorale.

“Ben is a very hard worker and (it) shows through his dedication for choir,” Young said. “His (position) shows how skilled and dedicated he is.”

Kachungu will go far in his future, Howell said.

“I’m very proud of how everything turned out,” he said. “I want him to keep pushing towards what he wants to do because he’s gifted.”

He is glad he pushed himself to do more.

“I learned that going out and trying new things can actually be beneficial to you,” Kachungu said. “Now that I actually did it, I want to try to make it to All State choir next year.”