MHS Show Choirs Shine at Spotlight

    There was great anticipation for the show choir event Spotlight held on December 2nd, which highlighted the show choirs Sound and Reverb and included the a capella group Rush Hour. The group Noise was also supported by the MHS band. Spotlight is not only the first performance for the show choirs to kick off their season, it is also a fundraiser which sells raffle tickets to help fund the program. This fundraiser usually raises anywhere from $12,000 to $15,000.

   The excitement was intense for the students in the choirs as they prepared for this day since the beginning of the school year. Senior Madeline Demuth, a member of the varsity Sound, who has been in the show choir for all four years was going into her last Spotlight.

   “I am beyond excited to be going into Spotlight this year. It is my senior year so this will be my last spotlight and it is so fun to go out and perform with all my friends and show off all the work we have put in to make this show amazing.”

   On another end of the spectrum is sophomore Aedan Hogan who is in the prep group Reverb as he was going into his first Spotlight.

   “I’m really excited. It’s my first year as a part of our choir, so I’m thrilled for this concert.”

   Somewhere in between both Demuth and Hogan is Junior Zoë Van Krey who is a member of Sound and was extremely excited for the event.

   “This is the inaugural year for many brand new things in the Arts program, especially so in Choir, so it’ll be amazing to watch all of the work everyone has put in this semester come to fruition in such an incredible way.”

         Spotlight was a bit different this year than in years past as there are currently only two show choirs rather than three. Van Krey spoke about how it was different for the members.

    “For us, all it means is that everything is co-ed and that we only learn one set of choreography and vocals as opposed to two.”

   Demuth commented on the same topic, “Spotlight [didn’t] change very much from how it’s been in past years.” 

   This year in Sound, the theme of the varsity show choir performances is pride. At Spotlight they performed Let Me Make You Proud, Fly Away, a softer and more comforting piece titled Remember Me, and Pop Goes the World that featured a costume change for both those in dresses and suits. They closed their performance with Breaking The Mirror.

   The other show choir Reverb features the theme of water. They sang Let the River Run and Ripple in the Water. The performance also included Head Above Water by popular artist Avril Lavigne. The show concluded with performances of Lazy River Deep, and Dive. 

   Choir Director Cory Thompson has been tackling the role alone this year as her former counterpart Stevee Libert is now assistant principal of the school. 

   “I have really missed having Mrs. Libert as my counterpart, but I have been so proud of the students for how much they have stepped up even more than usual, and how hard-working and helpful they have been,” stated Thompson.

   The event was a great success this year as over 450 tickets were sold and almost the entire house was filled. 

   The event included a surprise performance from the honors masters singers choir along with the scheduled groups. 

   Junior Morgan Jacobson who is in Reverb described the night as, “Sweaty, glittery, and exhilarating.” 

   Spotlight is an event with many people which means many different perspectives and lots of energy.

   Hogan called the electric night, “An adrenaline filled night to be remembered.”

   After the concert, Thompson showed her gratitude and love for her students. 

   “I’m super proud of the kids tonight, I felt like every single group stepped up past what they’ve been doing in rehearsals. The energy in the room was electric and we’re ready for competition season.” 

    What’s a show choir without its backup? Noise is the band directed by Andy Sturgeon that plays all of the background music for both Sound and Reverb. 

   They of course performed at Spotlight as well after just a few weeks of rehearsal. 

   “I’m really happy with Noise’s first performance of the year. After working on this music for weeks it’s really fun to hear the audience’s response,” said Sturgeon. 

   Going into the performance the students worked on improving their vocals and projection to the audience. Now that that performance has ended they are going to focus on making sure to present the show and form a connection to the audience through smiling and ‘taking the stage’. 

   Overall the night of Spotlight was thrilling and exciting. The performances from each group completely captured the audience’s attention in the best way possible. Mundelein is excited to see how the show choirs do in their competitions next semester!