HHS show choirs presented their fall show at Samford University’s Wright Center Nov. 4. The circus-themed show featured a cross section of musical genres displaying the choirs’ unique abilities.
Head show choir director Byron Mosquera explains the essence behind each performance.
“The show choir is a combination of singing, dancing, and theatrics,” Mosquera said. “We bring all these elements together, we put on extraordinary shows, full of energy and entertainment.”
There are four different performing levels in the show choir. The Network is a co-ed group in the highest skill category and Nexus is an advanced girls’ group. Both are open to grades 10th-12th, while Continuum is for ninth grade.
This year a new chamber choir was added to the performance list. This non-competition group open to all grades features a small subset of students primarily focused on singing.
Planning for the show begins before school starts.
“Over the summer [the show choir directors] come up with the show, find the theme, and find the songs that go with it,” Mosquera said. “They also cut the music to fit the arrangement of what they need, along with matching costumes for the theme.”
After summer, students memorize choreography and songs, with the help of choreographers.
“Throughout the fall we have choreographers that come in to do choreography,” Mosquera said. “We have people that arrange the music so as it comes in we start to learn it.”
The show choir typically performs at the HHS auditorium, but since its renovation, they moved to the Samford Wright Center.
The first part of the show centered around ballads designed to showcase the unique abilities of each group. Chamber choir opened with classical songs “Simple Gifts” and “Wheels of a Dream”. After, Continuum performed a ballad medley with Bruno Mars’s “Talking to the Moon”. Nexus performed the song “Flight” and The Network’s “Flight Song”.
The second section identically matched the shows performed when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
“The original costume, the original arrangements, the original choreography everything is exactly as it was in their freshman year,” Mosquera said.
The second section sampled songs from artists My Chemical Romance, Britney Spears and Pink. They finish off with the song “Greatest Show on Earth” by Michael Jackson, further incorporating circus themes.
The third part previewed future competition shows to the audience. Continuum songs focused on themes of the universe, with Nexus performing concepts of names. The Network performs “Overture”, “Higher Ground” and “Let Me Entertain You”.
The showcase concluded with all three groups, nearly 180 dancers and singers, performing “Fly / I Believe I Can Fly”, with chamber choir finishing with the song “For Good” from the musical Wicked.
Freshman Audrey Johnson is part of the show choir’s stage crew. She helps with sewing and costume organization.
“We do costumes and the technology backstage,” Johnson said. “We also organize them and make lists to make sure we all have what we need.
Behind the curtains, the stage crew is bustling with high stakes work.
“Backstage can be hectic, lots of costume changes happening, people moving quickly, trying to rip off one costume to another, there are people having to swap sides sometimes,” Mosquera said.
Freshman Dorothy Bennett participates in chamber choir. She most enjoys the strong sense of environment and community.
“The environment is why I love it, how you are able to show off your talents, and the safe space,” Bennett said.
