Music competition at Wheaton Warrenville South

Katie Magoon could not have known her first exposure to Wheaton Warrenville South High School's chorale group, the Classics, would shape her teenage years.

But after watching a performance in middle school, Magoon quickly tried out for her school's choir.

In the six years since, she has gone from a curious middle school student who wanted to try choir to a “scared to death” freshman to a leader in one of the region's most successful show choirs.

“I immediately thought, ‘I have to be in this group,' ” the now 18-year-old senior said about her reaction to watching the group for the first time. “It was such an amazing experience watching them perform.”

Today, she serves as the head of the leadership council of the Classics, a group in its 25th year. Today and Saturday, March 11-12, the singers and dancers will play host to middle school and high school choirs during the fourth annual Wheaton Warrenville South High School Choral Classic. More than 20 high school show choirs and concert choirs will perform at the Wheaton school.

Today's competition starts at 5:40 p.m. and will feature middle schools. Saturday's competition among high school groups starts at 8:50 a.m. and goes throughout the day, leading into a performance by the Classics, who won the show choir title for the second straight year at last week's Hersey High School Chicagoland Showcase.

The title did not come easy. From August to January, Magoon and her fellow performers rehearsed twice a week for more than two hours.

The time they spend together helps develop chemistry that Magoon says comes through in the numbers. Judges tend to look for that interaction while also looking for individuality in each of the dancers, she said.

“We're just a big family,” she said. “You can't perform with people if you don't have that connection. We stand out as a group because of the people we have.”

Magoon said she plans on continuing her singing and dancing at either the University of Wisconsin or Miami University in Ohio.

At the competition Saturday, the 50 Classics performers, as well as the 46-member all-female Esprit group, will serve as hosts to the teams and guide them through the day. With no competition planned for her group, Magoon said she will not be able to do what she likes most about chorale.

“I love the competition,” she said. “It just forces us to work harder to reach the next level at each competition. I really love the challenge of having to rise above the others.”

If you go

What: Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic

When: Middle school competition begins at 5:40 p.m. today; high school competition runs 8:50 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a performance by the Classics around 10:30 p.m.

Where: Wheaton Warrenville South High School, 1993 Tiger Trail, Wheaton

Details: Six middle schools compete today; 18 high school show choirs and five high school concert choirs from around the Midwest compete Saturday

Info: (630) 784-7200 or <a href="http://moredomainsforless.com/classics">moredomainsforless.com/classics</a>