<p>I know show choir tends to be more of a Midwest thing, but with the popularity of Glee, I am sure participation has picked up all over.</p>
<p>Our school’s very competitive show choir season is just beginning, and we give every weekend to the competition schedule. Choir practices are at least three nights a week and have been at least twice a week since school began in the fall. Most of the kids who do musicals at our school (or at least get the leads) are from the show choir “pool.” They are in top shape vocally all year long, learn to dance without private lessons (and how to pick up moves quickly), and learn so much about facials, etc.</p>
<p>When my son was going through this audition process, I assumed that most kids were in a show choir, but I’m not sure I am correct - many hopefuls had been in a local shows, and had dance and voice lessons, but had not participated in an actual show choir.</p>
<p>Just curious…are most of you students show choir members? If not, what is your training background? Does it vary according to your area of the country? (i.e. I know there are lots of threads about camps, but we do not really have those here…is that a typical training ground for a lot of you? Northeast?</p>
<p>My D is a MT freshman this year. In HS, she was in the show choir for 2 years (in Texas) but it was not a “competitive” thing. It was considered a regular class, so they rehearsed every day, but performances were limited to pep rallies, occasional community performances (fairs, nursing homes, Christmas pageants) and three concerts per year. I don’t believe Texas has competitions for show choir, at least our district did not compete. Now, Western swing dance teams in Texas? That’s another story!</p>
<p>PNW here… There are NO show choirs that I know of anywhere in the region. Many of the strongest MT singers in this area are in selective Vocal Jazz ensembles at school, in addition to various classical choirs and private voice lessons and dance classes. D’s school has had a weak drama program, so she’s never really had any acting training.</p>
<p>I bet show choir is ablast, and I think D would have loved being in one!</p>
<p>D was the only kid who signed up for Show Choir here, (NE coast) 2 years in a row. Then, Glee appeared on TV. Now it’s a big crowd, but they’re just getting started and she will have graduated by the time they compete at all. I wish it were different. </p>
<p>She’s had lots of classical choir, and the voice teacher gave her independent study in voice when Show Choir didn’t run. We have community/regional theaters here where she’s had the chance to perform in the ensemble with some wonderfully talented people from great programs… Also in straight dramas. Dance…er…a very weak point which she is addressing in something of a panic now.</p>
<p>We live in the mid-Atlantic region of the country where show choirs are practically non-existent. There was the chorus in high school, and that was about it. D began dancing at age 4 (just for the love of it…never having any intention of putting it to use in a career) and kept it up through high school. When we realized she could sing (and also realized her love of Musical theatre) we began private vocal lessons her sophomore year of high school, setting her goal of getting into a college MT program. We were very fortunate to have a wonderful coach in our area who was also versed in broadway and college auditions. D never did any community theatre, but did all 4 years of theatre at her high school, which was a very strong department. We knew that getting into a BFA program was so very competetive, especially since she began her journey a little later than many I read about here. But she is in a wonderful program and thriving. She couldn’t be happier!</p>
<p>Vocal Adrenaline was inspired by the real show choir of Carmel High School in Indiana. Several of Carmel HS’s graduates come to Indiana Univ - Bloomington to be Singing Hoosiers. [The</a> Indiana University Singing Hoosiers](<a href=“http://www.indiana.edu/~singingh/]The”>http://www.indiana.edu/~singingh/)</p>
<p>I’m a very proud Mom of a Singing Hoosier :)</p>
<p>There are no show choirs where we we are in SoCal though in the LA area there are some. My D (freshman at Marymount Manhattan MT) was in the “honors” choir in hs which was a regular class so they got to sing daily. They were not a competitive choir and did performances like megpmom mentions in her post.</p>
<p>Although frimly in the midwest, kiddo’s small high school has no show choir, and the one period of choir class has conflicted with an academic class every year…she did enjoy middle school choir, and did the state children’s honor choir, but she hasn’t been in an official school choir since 8th grade. She’s danced since age 3 (her idea, after seeing Nutcracker) and was on track to be a classical ballerina…until her freshman year, when she was asked to audition for the musical… She then came over to “the dark side” also known as MT…started taking voice and piano and acting, while still dancing at a high level. She does sing with a group at her “prep” program…but hasn’t really had much opportunity for choir…</p>
<p>No show choir whatsoever out here in Maryland. There are a few very far away from us (I know the kids from summer programs and things), but they aren’t really competitive, or at least that has been my experience. We don’t have a show choir offered, although people have been approaching me lately to ask if we have one, at which point I tell them we have a regular chorus and a theatre department…Glee certainly has driven the numbers up for our auditions for the chorus, select chorus, women’s barbershop quartet, musicals and even plays! It’s been nutty. </p>
<p>I have been taking piano lessons my whole life, voice lessons since middle school, acting since middle school, participate in community/local theatre, and do all of my school shows and choirs. I took dance for a while when I was younger. </p>
<p>Show choir = nothing I’ve ever been involved in.</p>
<p>My D graduated 3 1/2 years ago but of her MT friends, I don’t know any who had a background in show choir. I also cannot think of any of our family actor friends who had that type of experience. Most had a combination of one or more of these types of training/experience - arts h/s, shows in school/community/professional theatre, private dance/voice/acting lessons, summer programs/camps. Almost all of the successful (working the most consistently) actors we know are also excellent musicians. They play one or (usually) more instruments, write their own music and songs, perform regularly, even now as professionals and even when employed in Broadway/off-Broadway shows. Most have CDs out.</p>
<p>My D is a soph. at PSU. Like showmom, I know of no show choirs in our SoCal area. Mine was also in an honors choir (no dance or real movement) which was a regular period before school. They did a lot of concerts, but just a very few very low-key competitions. She did a lot of community theater in early high school, and by her junior year was doing a lot of regional theater. She did not participate in choir at all her senior year because she was doing enough theater late at night that the early morning choir would have been difficult. She even missed her school musical her senior year because she was cast in a regional production of Jekyll and Hyde. Glee makes show choir look like a lot of fun, but I’m not sure if my D would have given up her MT experiences even if we’d had it.</p>
<p>I would consider this the crux of the matter. I know some super-talented show choir kids, who assume that they will be competitive, whose level of training just doesn’t measure up to those who have been spending their time in voice lessons, dance classes, etc. If your show choir leaves no time for private instruction, and the practice required for same, AND makes it difficult to schedule auditions for several schools, due to a heavy competition season, it may be counterproductive. (of course, the same can be said of some kids who go from production to production to production, without really putting in the time for training.)</p>
<p>My daughter is a Freshman at a Florida HS. I don’t know of any show choir’s in our area. Her high school has both an active Thespian program as well as Men’s, Women’s choir and an advanced vocal Jazz ensemble. Right now she is active in both drama, MT, and the choir as a freshman…she will probably have to narrow that down as she progresses through HS due to the demands of academics. Outside of school she is involved in the community theatre scene as well as private voice/dance. I have noticed with the popularity of Glee, there are many more young people at community theatre auditions, as well as in Musical Theatre in the schools. One could only hope this will lead to more funding…</p>
Seems to be a lot of places claiming to be the inspiration. Back in the “day” I did show choir and Carmel was a powerhouse (and our rival also! :)) I was just at Findlay High School (OH) yesterday for a show choir competition, and they said the show called and asked for some info and for some props with their name on it to be used in the show (most notably Sue’s coffee cup…apparently it is from Findlay. So they claim a little fame, too.)</p>
<p>I am anxious for you guys to know that “Glee” is not a good representation of show choir…at all. What they do is more like a music video…what our choirs do is seriously choreographed, vocally challenging and downright aerobic. Altho we are not supposed to post YouTube links, I would suggest you check out “2010 Bishop Luers Minstrels” (sorry…it is my kids’ show choir, I am sure there are many others…but that’s the one I know.) It will give you a true picture of show choir in the Midwest…and is darn entertaining. Notice that the groups are large (probably averaging about 40 singer/dancers and 10 band members). They only put up one song at a time, but you can get the idea of the variety of numbers (avg. 25-minute show) and the “showmanship” that goes into it.</p>
<p>One of the posters talked about the disadvantage of being in show choir because when do you have time to go to “lessons”…I hear that, but would argue that a competitive show choir IS lessons…dance, amazing vocals, and “acting” training…watch the kids “sell it.” My kids still had time for private vocal lessons, piano lessons (as well as being in school and community theatre…altho this was mostly in the summer), but this was an AWESOME training ground…and the kids really push each other, too.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories…keep em coming.</p>
<p>^^just to clarify…no my kids are not the soloists. And altho the video obviously does not translate as well as the live show…we did very well last year in awards, so this is a good representation of current show choir. Findlay First Edition (Ohio), and Center Grover (Indianapolis) are also great examples of the best show choirs right now.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have a great choir, nicksmtmom! I’m not a big Glee fan, myself-- our choir director is constantly having to explain to kids and parents that her choir is nothing like Glee!</p>
<p>I am not a glee fan, either…probably becuz i know it is so unrealistic. My kids love it, however, for the music (and the drama!) God bless those long-suffering choir directors!</p>
<p>I’m from the NY metro area and I’ve never even heard of show choir nor did I realize that Glee is supposed to be a representation of such a thing. Not a big Glee fan though!</p>
<p>I certainly don’t think being part of show choir could possibly hurt anyone in terms of auditioning. It sounds like it would be a great experience and we already assumed that Glee probably didn’t represent them well. They just sound very labor intensive and it’s hard to imagine having time to do other shows, or lessons on top of it. However it sounds like your family did fit them in Gwen. I guess that the thing I might worry about is that the kids are receiving most of their direction from one source, so you have to hope that person or group knows what they are talking about. We are lucky in that we live in an area with a lot of good regional theater as well as a wealth of acting and voice lessons available. Not everyone does so anything that can be provided to expose kids to performing arts is great. One thing I think Glee has helped with is that just like on Glee, at our HS, the kids in choir and drama are considered to be a bit geeky in general. Since Glee, we have seen more of the non-typical kids audition; football players, surfers, etc. Glee has made it more OK to be in choir. (Not that it ever stopped my D when she was in HS!).</p>
<p>My kids go (and went) to a performing arts magnet HS. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, they had a “show choir” but it was very lowkey. It is led by the choral director so she drives the kids crazy insisting on “good vowel sounds” when they are singing pop music. She also does not let girls belt. The school has a strong emphasis on classical voice (evidenced by nine singers making All State this year, which is very big in TX). The musicals are generally "classics too. No belting leads. The drama dept is also top notch - doing everything ranging from experimental physical theatre to lots of Shakespeare. </p>
<p>But my kids have been performing in regional MT (and my younger S did a national tour) since they were young, so we always supplemented school with outside MT voice and dance lessons. Older D is now doing a MT BA and younger S (HS soph) is still deciding between MT and VP. For me, the moral of the story is, no matter how “good” your HS is, you will always need to supplement somewhere.</p>
God bless those long-suffering choir directors!</p>