Students jazzing up for showstopping performance

Fifteen seniors will perform as Shawano Community High School students for the final time at “The Last Dance” May 9-10 at the school.

The 22nd annual program features the school’s acclaimed jazz band and the Showstoppers show choir. About 50 students will perform in the two shows, which give the seniors an opportunity to conclude their high school music careers with a bang.

“The biggest thing we try to do is bring a variety of music into the shows every year,” SCHS choir teacher Jonathan Kent said.

This year’s show will feature music ranging from Frank Sinatra to the contemporary pop of Taylor Swift, from legend Billy Joel to the most recent Grammy sensation, Idina Menzel; from Glenn Miller to Guns and Roses.

Kent said the Showstopper seniors selected their own solos for “The Last Dance” and began working on them two months ago.

“We have the hottest song on the planet,” Kent said. “From the movie ‘Frozen,’ there is a song called ‘Let It Go’ the girls are going to do, and they are also doing a Taylor Swift tune.”

Kent added the boys will perform songs from Sha Na Na.

Senior Will Johnston, who is a member of the jazz band and Showstoppers, has been a part of “The Last Dance” since he was a freshman. He will sing Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” along with songs by Canadian vocalist and songwriter Michael Buble.

Johnston, who plays tenor saxophone, said he has grown accustomed to being in the spotlight over the last few years. The band’s entire saxophone section graduated following his sophomore year, forcing him to shoulder more responsibility within the band and Showstoppers.

For senior Caitlin Raether, however, being a soloist is a relatively new experience; one that initially made her a little anxious.

“It was learning to solo and actually getting up there because I never sung by myself before and trying to memorize all of the notes were nerve-wracking,” Raether said.

Other featured performers will include Megan Beck, alto sax; Maris Braun, trombone; and Lindsey Schreiner, alto sax. They are members of the jazz band that this year added another jewel to its illustrious history, winning its sixth consecutive championship at the Rolling Meadows, Ill., jazz festival.

The students are confident the audience will be impressed and perhaps surprised by the quality of the performances.

“This is the best opportunity you have to see the best of the best of the high school because everyone needs to try out and be in these programs,” Raether said. “We are the best the school has to offer.”

“It is just wonderful entertainment. … It is a night of music, and all of the instrumentalists and musicians are amazing,” said Johnston, who added “the desserts we have there are delicious.”

Still, despite the celebratory atmosphere surrounding the show, it also tends to be somewhat bittersweet.

“It’s the last time the seniors are going to perform here,” Kent said.