Mt. Pleasant variety shows highlight students talents

Last Sunday evening, the Mt. Pleasant Middle School and High School students presented a variety show.

“The kids were amazing, they threw the whole production together in a couple of days,” said high school Band Director James DePriest. “We had kids that were sick, and yet they were able to get this together.”

“Besides being a chance for kids to show off their talents, it is also a first look at the middle school and high school show choirs. This was the first time that those groups had performed this year, this was their debut.”

Chain Reaction, the middle school show choir, did the first performance of the afternoon at their segment of the shows. Later in the evening, In Motion performed their routine as part of the closing act.

The shows were a fundraiser for the music departments for the middle school and high school.

“Right now, one of the biggest pushes that we have right now within the entire music department, is high school band uniforms,” said DePriest. “The uniforms that we currently wear out on the field are 18 years old, which is about five years more than what is recommended. We look dated, and the uniforms are wearing out.”

“Basically, we are buying band uniforms, but our chamber singers, and our symphonic band are in need of their black tuxedos and black dresses,” said DePriest. “When they go to perform, like at All-State, that is what they wear,”

The new uniforms will cost $113,000. They are an innovative design that allows for multiple fittings within one set. “We have been trying, within the last two years, to raise the money for the uniforms,” said DePriest. “We are now about $35,000 short of the goal, and we are pushing hard to get there.”

“We have to have an order for the band uniforms, for sure, by the First of March,” said DePriest. “We are making our last push to get this done.”

“We will be doing a radio-thon on Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 6-9 p.m. on KILJ,” said DePriest. “We will be going on for 3 hours and hopefully raise a lot of money to finish this project.”

On Feb. 5 the high school band will be hosting their Mt. Pleasant Show Choir Invitational. There will be 19 groups coming from all over the area to complete that day. The Middle School choir, Chain Reaction also will perform that day as an exhibition.

“This is probably one of the biggest things that we do all year,” said DePriest. “It is similar to the Marching Band Invitational, but on a much bigger scale.”