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Mt. Pleasant Show Choir and Jazz Band shine at competition, with a little help from a goat
A baby goat joined MPCHS music students as they put on solid performances in Indianola
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT – When Mt. Pleasant Community High School’s show choir and jazz band students boarded the bus for the Ascension competition in Indianola last weekend, they weren’t expecting a baby goat to tag along. But in a season already filled with long nights, high-energy performances, and relentless dedication, this unexpected travel companion was simply a welcome twist in the adventure.
The seven-week-old goat, named Dodo, belonged to MPCSD Director of Transportation Anna Carlson who drove the performing students to Indianola. As a farm-owner, sometimes things come up, like a baby goat needing bottle-fed every four hours on a day the high school jazz band and show choir need transportation for an 18-hour long competition day.
Faced with two things that needed done, Carlson opted to bring Dodo along for the ride, literally.
“Dodo came along in a Panther onesie and the kids took turns holding her the whole way,” MPCHS Choir Director Makenzie Kauffman-Ho said. “She made cute little noises, and the kids loved it. It was just a fun little moment in the middle of a long, exhausting day.”
And exhausting it was. The jazz band had already competed on both Thursday and Friday, making Saturday’s event their third competition in as many days. Many students juggle both jazz band, show choir, and other extracurricular activities so by the time the bus rolled into Indianola, they were running on sheer determination.
“This is a really busy season,” Kauffman-Ho said. “We had three competitions, a choir concert on Monday, and now we’re already looking ahead to our next events. And of course, track is starting too.”
Even with everything happening at once, the students have kept their energy high.
“All the kudos to the kids for keeping at it and keeping the energy up,” Kauffman-Ho said. “It really has been a cool, cool year for show choir. This has been a really great group to work with.”
Despite the grueling schedule, both groups delivered performances they could be proud of.
“Saturday, we put on some great performances,” Kauffman-Ho said. “The jazz band said they felt like their best performances were on Saturday. And then show choir—well, we opened up the varsity category and felt really, really good about it.”
The Indianola Show Choir Invitational is a relatively new competition, but it has already attracted some of the strongest programs in the Midwest. Unlike many competitions that separate schools by size, Indianola’s event is unclassed, meaning small schools like Mt. Pleasant compete directly against larger 4A and 5A schools.
“We ended up eighth out of 17 show choirs,” Kauffman-Ho said. “And of those 17, fourteen were from 4A or 5A schools. So, for us to be right in the mix was huge.”
Mt. Pleasant’s auditioned show choir InMotion is performing Fly Again this season, a five-song production that tells a story of struggle, perseverance, and hope.
“The first song talks about how life doesn’t always deal the right cards, but we push forward,” Kauffman-Ho explained. “Then we move into a song that represents the frustration of those challenges, followed by a ballad that really shifts the perspective—some things happen for a reason, and some things are meant to be.”
The show’s climax features Open the Clouds, which signifying that turning point, before closing with Not the End/Fly Again, an anthem of resilience and rising above obstacles.
Students and audiences found additional connection to the performance thanks to former long-time MPCHS Band Director Jim DePriest writing the final ballad.
“The show really means a lot to the kids, and I think it means a lot to the people who watch it,” Kauffman-Ho said. “They’ve really brought the story to life.”
That ability to connect through performance hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Kauffman-Ho expressed the pride she felt as she heard the judge’s critique following their performance in Indianola.
“The judge at critique kept saying, ‘I can’t say anything else about your choreography—it’s just so clean, so well-rehearsed,’” Kauffman-Ho said. “It was really cool to hear that because their hard work has really, really paid off.”
Kauffman-Ho is grateful not only to her dedicated students who she says are a joy to work with, but also her fellow instructors, Micah Peck who prepares the band, and Ben Schrank and Anne Chapman who oversee choreography.
The season isn’t over yet. InMotion will continue competing, with stops at Ft. Madison and other local events in the coming weeks. The group has already performed in front of packed audiences and top-tier judges, proving they can hold their own against bigger programs.
As for Dodo the goat, her future as a road companion is uncertain. But when asked if she—or any other livestock—might make another appearance, Kauffman-Ho wasn’t ruling anything out.
“Not at this time,” she said, laughing. “But we’re definitely open to it.”
For now, Mt. Pleasant’s show choir and jazz band will continue doing what they do best, putting on powerful performances, working hard, and embracing the unexpected, whether it’s long hours, tough competition, or even a baby goat along for the ride.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
