Mt. Pleasant?s sweet melodies sends show choir to finals

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

The music department at Mt. Pleasant Community School District has been bringing home some wins recently.

The Mt. Pleasant Middle School Show Choir team, Chain Reaction, recently brought home the gold with a first place finish in the middle school category during the Ft. Madison Show Choir Invitational, Stars in the Spotlight, on Saturday, March 5.

?We?re always really proud of our kids,? said Marlene DePriest, director of Chain Reaction and vocal music instructor at the Middle School. ?They performed really well and I?m pleased they pulled it off and got the reward they deserve.?

DePriest said Saturday was Chain Reactions? final competition.

?The Middle School approach is to give the kids the taste of competition so at the high school level, they are ready to compete,? she said.

And the High School?s Show Choir, InMotion, was also ready to perform on Saturday. InMotion placed second in their class and fourth in the finals.

?We ended up taking home fourth place, which was pretty good considering our circumstances,? said High School Vocal Music Instructor and InMotion Director Andrew Grove.

Tragedy recently struck the Mt. Pleasant Community School District as one of its students, and show choir members, passed away.

?The reason we performed was simply to honor the student that passed away and we feel like we achieved that,? said Grove.

?We really have amazing students,? said DePriest. ?I?m proud of how they have supported each other during this extremely emotional time.?

DePriest added the support the community has given the school, staff and students has been greatly appreciated.

Grove said InMotion is looking toward the future and their final performance of the year. InMotion will perform at Quincy, Ill., this coming Saturday. The 24th Annual Showcase of Excellence will begin at 8:30 a.m., on March 12, and will last until Midnight.

Grove said overall, this season has gone very well. ?It?s had its ups and downs, but I feel like we?re primed to end things on a very positive note next week,? he said.

Previously, InMotion captured first place in the preliminaries and second in the finals during the show choir competition at Central Lee.

The middle school?s show choir?s next performance will be in April as part of a dessert theater.

InMotion and Chain Reactions aren?t the only musical ensembles in Mt. Pleasant that has been racking up the accolades. Mt. Pleasant?s High School and Middle School jazz bands have also had high achievements this season. Following several first place finishes during competition season, Jazz 1 has qualified for the 2016 Iowa Jazz Championships, which will be held in Des Moines on Tuesday, April 5.

DePriest said she is very excited for all of the upcoming performances from Mt. Pleasant?s music department.