Students audition for Airport High Show Choir

The last Monday and Tuesday of January, students auditioned for Show Choir. The auditions were held in the auditorium after school and were judged by Mrs.Hines and two other surprise judges.

Airport has never had a Show Choir before, yet the music program has been open for years. Show Choir presents a new opportunity for all students to enjoy, featuring a vast difference from the typical choir.

Over the span of two days, more than twenty students auditioned for Show Choir. Mrs. Hines had previously stated that she didn’t expect to draw more than a few people to audition but was quite surprised when more than just the regular chorus kids auditioned for Show Choir. Even students who didn’t have any previous experience in music auditioned.

Students from many different backgrounds auditioned, regardless of whether or not their friends were participating. Perhaps some students felt inclined to audition because of their love for the popular show, Glee, which is a musical comedy-draw about a high school choir. Regardless of their reason for audition, many students felt like it was a great opportunity to expand their horizons.

In response to a question about why he auditioned, Jace M., a first year member of Honors Chorus who auditioned for Show Choir, noted, “Mainly just because I love the stage. I love performing. I love music. Dance is something I’ve always wanted to get into but I never really had the chance because no one will really teach me.”

Liana W., another first year member of Honors Chorus, who has been in chorus for three years said in response to the same question about why she auditioned, “Because I love music and I love performing and I needed an extracurricular activity and I thought it would just be really fun to do.”

When asked how she thought her audition went, Liana said, “I think it went alright. It was fun and I sang ‘ Waving Through A Window' from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.”

Both Jace M. and Liana W. agreed that the audition was not nerve wracking but felt as if it was a positive environment. Jace stated that it was a really healthy environment, and it did not feel like an audition.

At Airport students may request to be place in a chorus class, where they sing quintessential choir songs, most of which have religious themes. Other songs that are performed are in different languages such as French and Latin which may be more challenging. If students are interested, towards the end of the second semester, auditions are held for Honors Choir. Honors Choir requires more of students, as they typically perform multiple a semester and have more opportunities to sing outside of school. Honors Choir dabbles in older pieces of music that are typically more advanced with key changes and descants. Choir performance are formal, in which students must dress a certain way and behave professionally on stage and off stage. Show Choir is thus a harsh contrast to the normal choir. Students students perform more popular and upbeat songs. Incorporated with learning music, students also learn choreography to fit the piece. The auditions for Show Choir were a bit different too. Along with performing a piece of their choosing, students were also required to dance.

Show Choir originally was called swing choir, and is most prevalent in the United States. Unlike sports or regular music competitions, Show Choirs are not held to a rigorous expectation and there are no official state or national competitions. Participants in Show Choir typically wear flashy costumes opposed to the more conservative choir uniform. Larger choirs may even incorporate two outfits within a performance.

Currently there are six high school choirs from South Carolina registered on ShowChoir.com,a website where you can watch performances of choirs all over the U.S. and Canada.

If you’d like to learn about Airport’s show choir, contact Mrs.Hines in the Chorus Room!