Wheaton Warrenville South wins show choir contest

Wheaton Warrenville South High School fields 42 students in its show choir in a high-energy performance that literally sings.

However, at Saturday's Chicagoland Showcase in Arlington Heights, it was the moving ballad "Anyway," sung by junior Lauren Roesner of Wheaton, that won her best soloist honors, on the way to The Classics winning best vocals and best choreography before being crowned overall grand champion.

"The kids perform it with a sense of sincerity that's pretty much unmatched," said their director, John Burlace, of the song first recorded by Martina McBride. "It's really breathtaking."

Wheaton Warrenville South emerged from a pool of 19 high schools that took the stage at Hersey High School. Some came from as far away as Mississippi, Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana.

Local entries included Mundelein, Palatine, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling high schools, while Hersey's Ladies First and On Stage show choirs competed in exhibition.

Each performed a 25-minute set that featured a variety of music -- from pop to contemporary to Broadway tunes -- all played by their live combos and set up by their crew of classmates.

They ranged from Mundelein High School's show choir Sound performing disco moves from "Saturday Night Fever," to Prospect High School's Mixed Company, singing popular James Bond themes, including their closer, "Live and Let Die."

Rolling Meadows High School's New Directions performed songs from movies, including "Runaway Bride," "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Shrek" before closing with the title song from "Footloose."

"It's the closest thing to a varsity sport in the fine arts," said Sara Michael, Hersey choral director. "They have weekly rehearsals, and each student is accountable individually as well as a group. There's no hiding on the bench."

Hersey senior Andrew Long of Prospect Heights spent most of high school competing in sports, including wrestling and baseball, but this year he decided to throw caution to the wind and go out for the choir. Now he wishes he had done it sooner.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself in choir," Long said Saturday, "but it looked like fun and was something different."

Meantime, Wheaton Warrenville South junior Jessica Johnson said she and the other members of "Espirit," the all-girls show choir, loved performing "The Party's Just Beginning," originally recorded by the Cheetah Girls, with their hip-hop dance moves.

"We're only in our second year of performing," Johnson said. "We just had to start another show choir. Our school has so much talent, it's just overflowing."