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Powerhouse Choir named grand champion in Chicago

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Contributed by: Connie Trimble on 3/30/2008

The screams and cheers of joy could be heard all the way back to Burbank on Saturday night when the advanced mixed choir of John Burroughs High School was announced, not only as first-place winners, but as grand champion of the FAME national show choir competition in Chicago.

Powerhouse was cheered on by the chaperones, fans, their principal, Emilio Urioste, and the advanced women's choir, Sound Sensations, which also competed and made the finals.

It's a long road from the start of the school year to a national competition. Hours of rehearsal, costume fittings, fundraising, local competitions and more and more rehearsals go into achieving such an accomplishment.

Hard work was required not only from the students, but by their teacher/director, Brendan Jennings, Powerhouse choreographer, Jennifer Oundjian, Sound Sensation choreographer, Jennifer Porter, booster parents and school administrative staff.

Their Chicago adventure started at LAX airport on Thursday morning with a "bomb scare" before the Powerhouse flight took off. It only delayed the flight for a short while and soon both choirs were airborne.

Friday was a day for rehearsal and some sightseeing. It was also a day for snow! Heads were tilted back to catch snowflakes on their tongues. Not a usual activity for kids from Burbank.

They retired early on Friday night as they had to change hotels the morning of the competition. A doctors' comvention in downtown Chicago had every room booked months in advance and there was nothing available in town on Saturday night.

Not a problem for a great booster parent group who made arrangements and got everything set up in advance. Sunday was scheduled for some sightseeing with an early morning flight back to Burbank on Monday.

Most high schools across the country that have a showchoir only have a mixed choir. The city of Burbank amazingly has two high schools which both have an advanced mixed and womens choir, which compete on a national level.

At this competition, both the mixed and womens groups had to compete against each other. It's never easy for choir friends to compete against each other, but you'd never know it by siting in the audience at a competition. Support, love and tightly held hands were seen as finalists were announced.

Amid wild screams, both choirs made the finals. The students had dinner with their chaperones, while their teacher and choreographers listened to the judges' taped comments.

Then everyone met back together to hear the comments and prepare to perform in the finals. Tension built as they announced the final top three. North Central High, from Indiana, was third, Attache, from Mississippi, was second and Powerhouse won first.

The choir was awarded Best Show Design, Most Original Set and Best Male Stage Presence by student Ben Robinson. Ultimately, Powerhouse was named grand champion by also winning the Musianship and Showmanship awards.

There are many reasons for student groups to travel to competitions. The obvious ones are the lessons that come from being in a competition. Some lessons involve the joy of first place and some the heartbreak of "only" being second.

The bigger lessons involve taking students to a world they haven't experienced yet.

For many, this was their first time on a plane, away from parents and in a downtown urban city. They all returned with memories to last a lifetime of their magical musical journey to a championship.

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