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May 2008 |
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Monday, 31 March 2008 |
Seventh annual Music and More held at WHS
By KRISTIN REICHARDT
Assistant Managing Editor
Overhead stage lights twinkle off the twirling red skirts as members of the Beavercreek High School show choir shimmy and spin while singing “I Just Move On.”
The jazz song from the film “Chicago” was only part of the high school competition team’s routine for the Music and More 2008 choir competition Saturday at Wapakoneta High School.
The seventh annual competition featured performances from 16 high school show choirs and a showcase performance by the host choir, Wapakoneta High School’s Singsation.
“It went very, very well,” Music and More Chair Tracey Wright said Sunday in a telephone interview. “We had very big crowds because we were fortunate enough to have a number of schools who had already won grand championships this year, and people were excited to have those schools all in one place and get to see them.”
She said the entire event is so much fun to plan and execute because it gives students a chance to meet others who share their interest, and showcases the students’ talent and strong work ethics.
“There is just so much positive energy throughout the school all day, and our kids are so proud of our school, and to be hosts and hostesses,” Wright said. “It gives the students who are interested in music and dance a wonderful competitive outlet for those skills.”
Of the six finalists, the Fairfield High School Choraliers won the Grand Champion title, while the Beavercreek High School Friends won second place. The Churabusco New Era, from Indiana, placed third, with the Garfield-Heights High School Music Express placing fourth, the Edgewood (Indiana) High School Music Warehouse placed fifth, and the Cory-Rawson High School Impressions placed sixth.
The competition also awarded 25 caption and class awards in addition to the championship awards, such as an award for best costumes, best choreography, and the best of two all-women groups.
The best performer from each school also was recognized, including Wapakoneta High School junior Kaitlin Kantner.
New this year were two instrumental awards, one to the best backup band comprised completely of students and one to the best backup band that was adult-aided.
“We always felt that we’re all about recognizing student achievement and it just didn’t seem like a fair playing field if someone was using two or three adults,” Wright said. “That second award seemed to go over pretty well.”
Committee members are still evaluating this year’s event for potential improvements, but Wright said at first glance everything went well.
The program serves as the primary fundraiser for the entire Wapakoneta High School music program, and proceeds help pay for items — such as helping with the cost for costumes for the 48 Singsation members and the 12-member Red Pepper backup band, subsidizing the choir trip every four years, and helping purchase new performance outfits for the Symphonic Choir members.
Last year the event raised more than $10,000, and Wright said she expects this year’s proceeds to be comparable, if not more, because of the large schools in attendance and the larger crowd.
“Whenever you have something of this magnitude, there are never enough words to thank people,” Wright said of the volunteers, local businesses and others involved. “You just can’t be grateful enough, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.”
Wapakoneta High School student Shane Davis said during the past three years he has watched the Music and More competition grow in quality and in numbers.
“I am amazed with how far it has come and how much people have enjoyed it from year to year,” Davis said. “We are just producing so much more every year. The stage is getting better, the lights are getting better — is just getting better every year.”
Davis said of the 16 competitors, his favorites were Beavercreek and Fairfield high schools because the team members are fun to interact with and to watch perform.
“The other schools blew me away today,” Davis, a junior with Singsation. “Everyone was on their game today. I’m glad we are not competing.”
Davis, whose self-described passion for competing and being in the spotlight shows as his eyes and smile widen with each expression while performing, said he and his teammates love having the opportunity to share their love of music and dance with others.
“We learn a lot of leadership and you learn how to take something that you love and express it — share it with others,” Davis said.
Still wearing her black dress accented with gold sequins and black mesh, with her blond hair coaxed into ringlets, Kayla Dombrosky said the best part of the competition for her is meeting new people.
“We are so used to our school, so seeing what everyone else goes through is fun,” Dombrosky said.
The Edgewood High School senior said a key characteristic of the Music and More competition is how supportive and welcoming the Singsation members are as hosts.
“It is far away, but I think it’s definitely worth it,” Dombrosky said. “It’s fun.”
One aspect of hosting a competition that Wapakoneta does well is in advancing six teams to the finals instead of the five teams other competitions advance, said Sarah Greene, a senior alto on the Beavercreek High School team.
“That gives more people a chance to show what they have,” Greene said. “Having six is a bigger show.”
The Singsation members could not compete because competition rules forbid the host team from competing.
However, freshman Singsation members Karmyn Schneider and Emily Henderson said they enjoy serving behind the scenes.
“You can do it for enjoyment without worrying about being judged,” Schneider, who performed a solo during Singsation’s showcase, said of hosting.
She even expressed relief that she and her teammates did not have to face the pressures of competition.
“There is a lot of diversity in shows, and it is really fun to watch because they are so different,” Schneider said. “There are a lot of talented kids.” |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 April 2008 )
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 | I love the fact that our town is growing so fast! Every time I come home from college, there is a new business opening! Katherine Brown - Wapakoneta, OH
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