On Tuesday Mar. 11 and Wednesday Mar. 12, Santa Fe hosted a show choir competition for middle and high schools all around Oklahoma.
Santa Fe has two show choirs: the mixed choir, Finale, and the treble choir, Serenade. Both Finale and Serenade performed alongside Edmond Memorial High School’s Act II, Duncan High School’s Reflections, Mustang High School’s Backstage Bronchos, Central Middle School’s Act I, Heartland Middle School’s Thunderstruck, Sequoyah Middle School’s Sequoyah Showtime and more.
Finale performed 5 songs: “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi, “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day, “Just Like Fire” by P!nk and “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters. Serenade performed 4 songs: “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” by Daryll Hall and John Oates, “Sweet Dreams” by Beyonce, “If I Can Dream” by Elvis and “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence.
“The shows are always so personal because they are made for us, and by us,” sophomore and Finale member Bella Merrifield said.
Members of show choir have the whole school year to prepare and bond before competing. The bond between students is strong, especially for those who have been in show choir all four years.
“My favorite part about show choir [is] the genuine connections and friendships I have made over the years,” senior and Finale member Chayla Williams said. “Bonding over rehearsals, performances, and backstage moments made my time in show choir really meaningful.”
These performances take a lot of time and effort from both students and their teachers Shermie Potts and Karissa Parkhurst.
“Show choir is as much student led as it is teacher led,” Merrifield said. “We really come together and have to learn how to work with each other and create a show choir set that works with our group specifically.”
In the end, Potts announced the awards. Finale won the award for Best Choreo and Serenade won the award for Outstanding Treble Choir.
“Winning is great, but the best part is giving it your all and supporting your team,” Williams said.