The 12th annual Crystal Classic show choir is on Saturday, March 6, at Fairfield Senior High School. If you’ve never seen a show choir competition, this is one of the biggest and best. Come early and get a good seat.

Show choirs combine singing, instrumentals, choreography and glittering costumes to stage performances that makes it hard to believe they’re just high school and middle school students. There will be 34 high school and middle school show choirs on hand from six states, including California. Local groups participating include show choirs from the Hamilton, Ross, Colerain, Lebanon, and Loveland high schools. One show choir will go home with the crystal Grand Championship trophy.

There will also be awards for best vocals, choreography, costumes, instrumentals and show concept, as well as place awards.

Fairfield’s own show choirs, “Rhythm Express,” “Pure Elegance” and the nationally recognized “Choraliers” do not compete, as they’re the host groups. But they will present exhibition performances of their championship shows. These groups are under the direction of Jeff Clark, our high school choral music director and one of our outstanding staff of music teachers.

Something new this year is that the final round, on Saturday evening, will be shown live on the Internet. The website www.showchoir.com will be streaming the performances live so that fans around the country can watch. It can even be viewed in high definition with the proper equipment.

The Crystal Classic was started by Jeff’s predecessor, Dan Prior, with a lot of assistance from Dan’s wife Diane. A huge crew of volunteers devotes hundreds of hours every year to make the event possible. The Arena at the high school is transformed into a major concert venue, with a 72-foot-wide stage constructed just for the day. The stage, which was already massive, has been extended even further this year. The trophy display alone is worth seeing.  

Tickets are available at the door. Admission is $10 for the preliminary daytime round (9 a.m.-4 p.m), $12 for the evening finals (7-11 p.m.) or $18 for a combination daytime/evening ticket. For more information, contact Fairfield High School at (513) 942-2999, ext. 115 or visit the website at www.crystalclassic.org.

During the year there are many band, orchestra and chorus concerts. You can use the activity calendar on the school district web site (www.fairfieldcityschools.com) to find them all. Then on May 2 is the Arts Fair (it’s always on the first Sunday in May) when thousands of students from throughout the district sing, play instruments, dance and display artworks they have created. It always draws a huge crowd and is one of the largest events in the district every year. It’s a great opportunity to see talented musicians and artists of all ages, all in one place.

As you can see, fine arts are alive and well in the Fairfield Schools. We are very proud of the acclaim that our hard working teachers and talented students have earned for us.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Feb. 25, 2010.