Show choir

Show choirs have been popularized by the American television show Glee but have a longer history dating back to glee clubs in London in the 18th century,[1] musical theatre, music in the plays of William Shakespeare and the theatre of ancient Greece.

[2] Show choirs sing music as a type of performing arts, for example as secondary school activities in the United States.

While there is no standard requirement for the number of performers or demographic of its students, a show choir typically consists of thirty to sixty singer/dancers.

Instrumentation selection often varies between choirs and even from one group's song selection to another, but a common show choir band consists of trumpets, trombone, alto/soprano sax, tenor sax, piano, and synthesizer, guitar, bass, auxiliary percussion, and a drum set.

Though some events are held at auditoriums or other facilities that can accommodate larger crowds and provide better acoustic performance.

[6] Because of the vast difference in sizes of the competitions, they can last a single afternoon or span an entire weekend.

These divisions are often determined by age, skill level, size of the school or choir, and/or gender of the participants.

The number of groups in the finals round is up to the hosting school, but typically 5–6 choirs participate.

The adjudicators (or judges) at these competitions are usually high school choir/music teachers, show choir directors, choreographers, arrangers, or performers from Broadway-style musicals.

Comparing different forms of art comes with an inherent subjectiveness, so it is not uncommon for judges or geographical regions to bias certain styles of shows.

They take place during the main competition in a different area than the show choir performances.

In the Midwest, it is becoming popular to set one song aside as a "novelty" piece, designed to make the audience laugh.

Within a song, vocal lines typically alternate between unison or octave singing, and two-or-more-part polyphonic harmony.

Competitive performance sets range in length, but are usually timed to total between fifteen and twenty-five minutes.

“Glee” creator, Ryan Murphy, invited Burbank High School's 2008 Advanced Mixed choir, In Sync, to film their award-winning Disco Medley to be featured as a flashback from Mr. Schuester's time in high school Glee Club.

[14] This helps to provide easy use and audience sight lines to all performers (including the back row).

To achieve a full choral sound with rich melodies and tonal variety, mixed-gender show choirs need males to cover all vocal ranges.