SHS choirs are harmonizing into new heights this year as they will be performing competitively against other schools, according to choir teacher Katherine Doty.

“This competitive thing is kind of new for us,” Doty said. “We’re starting small and adding on so it doesn’t become this monster that’s out of control.”

This year, Ladies First Show Choir and Premium Blend, a jazz choir, will be facing schools at different competitions. The Varsity choir will also be competing at seasonal performances such as ISSMA, where they will compete for a gold, silver, or bronze rating. In the next couple of weeks, students in these choirs will start learning their show by preparing different costumes, dances and, of course, songs.

Doty believes that competing against other schools can broaden the students’ singing skills as they will be able to hear commentary from new judges. The feedback received from the judges allows them to grow and bond as a choir and as individuals.

Though SHS is just beginning its path of competing in different choir competitions, the singers in the choirs are confident that they can compete with the best. Being a beginning team, they are prepared to see where they stand compared to  other schools.

Sophomore Patrick Pranger is in the Premium Blend choir. He believes that SHS will have no problem competing against other schools especially with all of their time and dedication put into their practice. According to Pranger, members of the choir have rehearsals during and after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Along with that, they often practice during iPass and at each other’s houses.

“I have confidence in the skill of each and every one of the singers in the choir,” Pranger said. “I feel we can show up and give everybody a run for their money.”

On the other hand, junior Noah Nixon thinks his choir, Premium Blend, can improve as time goes on and hopes they do so. Though he thinks their chances are good, he isn’t worried about winning. His focus is on getting stronger as an entire choir as well as individually.

“(The choirs will have to) fix things, move on and get better because that is the only thing you can do no matter what,” Nixon said.

Similarly to Nixon, freshman Isah Vargas, a member of Ladies First, thinks as long as the choirs try their best, winning is not important. After being involved with choir since fifth grade, she thinks that SHS is ready to against other schools.

“I think that if we work hard and if we try our best then we will do well against the other schools,” Vargas said.

Senior Evy Pitzer has been doing choir for 12 years. Pitzer has been involved with Indianapolis Children’s Choir and is in Ladies First at SHS. She feels as though SHS has an advantage compared to other schools because of the camaraderie and family feel among the singers. She believes that in the end it’s all about the journey of getting to perform and making friends along the way.

“We do like to win, but at the same time if we don’t win, we love each other at the end. So, that is all that matters,” Pitzer said.

According to Doty, the preparation for the show choirs requires a lot of focus and perfecting even the smallest of details. As they only have a 25 minute slot to perform, making each song and dance perfect is essential.

“It’s a very long process of preparation,” Doty said.

Dancing especially is important in the Ladies First and Premium Blend choirs. The dance for Ladies First is choreographed by sophomore Olivia Brite. She will be choreographing four different dances. Students will have to learn and follow the instructions given by Brite in order to know how to perform their dance.

Brite says she is not too sure how they will do this year. She is hoping that as time goes on and the choirs become more accustomed to competing against other schools, SHS will begin to match up with them. She doesn’t expect to win the entire competition this year, but is looking forward to the experience.

“We all think it will be an interesting experience,” Brite said. “This year is our first year and we are going to see how it goes and see how we will do with other choirs.”