By Chris Spangler
Fort Atkinson High School was filled with the sound of music when its show choirs hosted the 2023 Fort Showcase Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11.
Fifteen mixed-gender groups, three women’s groups and two middle school groups competed in the 27th annual show choir invitational organized by Fort Atkinson’s South High Street Singers, Lexington Singers and Fourth Street Singers.
The event was sponsored by the school district in partnership with the VOICES vocal music parent organization, in the gymnasium and auditorium.
Over the course of the two-day event, 23 show choirs performed. On Friday, two middle school choirs competed and the Fort Atkinson Middle School show choir, the 4th Street Singers, performed in exhibition.
On Saturday, 18 high school choirs competed on stage, along with the South High Street Singers and Fort Atkinson High School Lexington Singers performing in exhibition.
Named grand champion was Mundelein High School’s Sound, from Illinois, which also received Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Band and Best Bass Soloist honors.
Executive Session from Sauk Prairie High School was named first runner-up, while Neenah High School’s Vintage took home second runner-up and Best Treble Soloist honors.
Also placing were the Janesville Craig High School Spotlighters, third runner-up; Monona Grove High School’s Silver Connection, fourth runner-up; and Mayville High School’s Cardinal Singers, fifth runner-up.
In the Women’s Division, winners were Sauk Prairie High School’s YTBN, first place; Green Bay Preble High School’s Rendezvous, second place; and Milton High School’s Octave Above, third place.
In the Prep Division, winners were Neenah High School’s Act II, first place; Mundelein High School’s Reverb, second place; DeForest Area High School’s DeFortes, third place; and Brodhead-Juda High School’s Guys and Dolls, fourth place.
Also participating were Surround Sound from Bettendorf, Iowa, High School; the Southwest Spotlight Singers from Green Bay’s Southwest High School; the Choraliers from Reedsburg High School; Vintage 2023 from Neenah High School; Choralation from Milton High School; and Center Stage from Green Bay’s Preble High School.
Middle school competitors were the Crescendos from DeForest Middle School and Soaring Sound from Sauk Prairie Middle School. Soaring Sound placed first with Best Vocals, Best Choreography and Best Soloist honors, while the Crescendos placed second.
Judging the show choirs were Craig Engstrom, Dallas James Pritt, Peggy Strimple, Jamie McMahon, Matt Knutson, Justin Steger and Jennifer Wiczer.
Each participating show choir was given a classroom to store its belongings, unwind and get ready for the performances.
All competed in a preliminary round, with the typical performance running about 16 minutes.
Before their performance, choirs spent 25 minutes in a warmup room, where they found the same staging configurations as those provided on the main stage in the gym.
After their preliminary round performance, groups were able to spend 25 minutes with a clinician who offered suggestions to enhance their performance. In the final round, each group named a finalist delivered the same program, likely having incorporated the clinician’s suggestions.
The auditorium was used for the soloist competition Saturday and middle school show choir competition Friday.