Show choir competition to mark 25 years of Best of Show

This paid event listing is sponsored by Best of Show.

Mark a milestone year and enjoy two days of high-energy entertainment at this week’s 25th annual Best of Show show choir competition.

Hosted by Washington High School, the annual event marks its 25th anniversary Feb. 14-15 with a program that will feature 30 middle and high school choirs over two days, plus a performance by the WHS Reunion Show Choir, which is expected to draw about 90 alumni back to perform.

“It’s just a really great showcase of talent in the region,” said Jeff Spencer, who has served as a WHS choir director for a decade. “Expect to see and hear some amazing performances from students throughout the area.”

Middle school students will perform Friday, while high school show choirs will take the stage Saturday. Multiple venues within the school will host performances, with jazz choirs performing in the auditorium and show choirs in the main gym, where an elevated stage will offer professional light and sound.

Choirs are coming from the Sioux Falls area as well as Aberdeen and Spirit Lake, Iowa.

The top six scoring choirs Saturday will advance to the final round Saturday night.

The winner will receive invitations to national-level competitions, Spencer said.

Money raised at the event benefits the Washington High School choir program. Its show choir, Classic Connection, includes 56 singers and dancers, 20 band members and eight backstage crew, and this past weekend won the grand champion award at the Lincoln Southwest Showdown in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The show choir’s annual show, which will be performed as an exhibition on Saturday, is themed around the movie “Back to the Future” and includes a montage of songs from the movie and era represented in it.

The WHS soprano-alto show choir, Stage Lights, also will perform an exhibition Saturday, with a show themed around Rosie the Riveter.

In celebration of the anniversary, “we’ll have memorabilia from all the years the competition has been running displayed in the school,” Spencer said. “And we have scanned yearbook photos and a mirror that says ‘Once a warrior, always a warrior’ to honor those that aren’t with us anymore.”

Over the years, the choir program has produced strong bonds among the students, he noted, adding that he knows of four couples who will be married in the coming year who met in Classic Connection while in high school.

For information on Best in Show, click here.