Senior Olivia Broadwater expected to give a proper sendoff to her Zionsville Community High School show choir career with the traditional final concerts in May.
“When I found out Finale was canceled, I was heartbroken,” said Broadwater, president of the Royalaires, the mixed show choir. “As seniors in show choir, we have tried not to cry during the season or get too sentimental in our speeches because we always thought that would have its time and place at Finale and the senior banquet. With these being canceled, it has been hard to close the curtain on our show choir and high school careers on our own.
“The directors have done an amazing job of keeping us connected with Zoom calls, class assignments and with making a Virtual Finale performance. Even a pandemic can’t keep us from sharing our message of love, hope, joy and family.”
The Virtual Finale featured recordings of show choir competitions and solo/small ensemble performances recorded specifically for when it was scheduled to be held May 8-9.
Hilary Pobanz and Camile Weston are senior co-presidents of the Choralaires, the all-female show choir.
“It has given me friendships and memories that I will cherish forever,” Pobanz said. “Choralaires has taught me a lot that I apply in the classroom and in my life outside of it. The directors and clinicians we are blessed to have in the (Zionsville show choir) community have educated us about life lessons such as hard work, commitment, positive attitudes and teamwork.”
Pobanz said the loss of the rest of the season has impacted all the show choir members, especially the seniors.
“Not being able to perform Finale on the Performing Arts Center stage and missing out on those memories that we have looked forward to since our sophomore year is probably the hardest part,” Pobanz said.
Weston described the show choir program as amazing.
“When I came into Choralaires as a sophomore, I gained 60 new friends and some wonderful upperclassmen mentors,” Weston said. “One of my favorite things about being in show choir is being able to appreciate the talents of my teammates. We have some incredibly talented individuals in both ensembles.”
At the Heart of America competition March 7 in Nashville, Tenn., the Choralaires were grand champions in the unisex division and Royalaires were grand champions in the mixed division.
