Alluding to the 1960s British Invasion of music, referring to British domination of music charts in the U.S., this year’s performance is themed “London Town Tour.” In contrast to last season’s theme, “The Last Pharaoh,” which focused on telling a story, “London Town Tour” is more centered around a specific musical theme. Their setlist is a compilation of songs from various British artists including Adele, Led Zeppelin and Elton John. The choir will use this performance to prepare for their first competition this weekend at Blue Valley High School in Kansas.
Sophomore Hannah Ryan said preparation for this season was “no joke.” Starting over the summer of 2023, members began memorizing their music so that by their first rehearsal in August all that was left was fine-tuning. Since the beginning of this school year, members have been attending B day morning, Tuesday evening and weekend rehearsals to build their stamina for the 20-minutes of dancing and singing.
“There’s a lot of thought that goes into simply starting up a show choir [performance,]” Ryan said. “And there’s a whole lot of energy that goes into actually making it happen.”
“There’s a lot of thought that goes into simply starting up a show choir [performance,] and there’s a whole lot of energy that goes into actually making it happen.”
— Hannah Ryan (10)
RBHS Choir director Jennifer Moorman has been preparing for this show since April 2023. She said picking music and making sure the choir can get rights to use the score, as well as afford it, proves to be quite the challenge. Not only was Moorman responsible for the music, but she was also in charge of holding auditions for soloists and student directors.
“All of our students compete in a solo audition for a panel of judges with a scoring rubric,” Moorman said. “[The panel] looks at the scores, and top scoring gets assigned the solo. We try to keep it as fair as possible.”
Senior Ellie Carlson said typical choir concert rules do not apply to this performance. The audience is encouraged to cheer in between songs, and even show up in costume. Carlson recommended feather boas and sunglasses. Carlson believes that the collection of upbeat and recognizable songs will create an energetic atmosphere during the performance, which will encourage audience members to get on their feet and dance.
“Show Choir is like a concert — you get to cheer during dance breaks, give standing ovations, laugh and cry,” Carlson said. “The [RBHS] Show Choir has been working extensively and all that hard work pays off with a full, loud crowd, so we hope to see all the seats filled.”
Will you go see the City Lights’ performance this Thursday? Let us know in the comments below.
