Have you ever walked through the Commons and wondered what the giant, oddly wide risers near the theater are used for? Or who actually uses those tall rolling mirrors? Believe it or not, those are the tools that allow the activities show and choir to merge together to create the sensational show choirs at Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Aquinas is home to two competitive show choirs, the Swingin’ Saints and the Saintsations. Both are audition-based, with the Saintsations being an all-female group and the Swingin’ Saints a mixed ensemble. The groups are directed by Catherine Boone and choreographed by Tiffany Best.

Every year the show choirs pick a theme to base their sets around. Then, music is picked to portray the theme. Each set typically includes five songs, most of which also include choreography. The show choir season unofficially kicks off in the summer with an overnight camp at Benedictine College to learn set music and meet new members of the choirs. Then, there is also a choreography intensive where the groups can learn their set choreography before the school year officially begins. 

This year, the theme for Swingin’ Saints was “Heaven and Earth.” The set followed a group of teenagers who are tragically involved in a car crash. After the “wreck” at the end of the first song, “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” which puts three crashers into comas, the question of whether the crashers will wake up is unclear. The following songs are “Bohemian Rhapsody” with soloists Liz Andrews and Ava Orr, “Mama Who Bore Me” with soloist Emma Zamboni, “Hear My Song” featuring Janie Krumm, Brooklyn Werth, Mary Whiteside, Matt Brun, and Mia Gervasini, “Lease on Life” with soloists Nathan Hummel, Grace Simmons, and Hailey Selock, and “Good To Be Alive” with soloists Patrick Dors and Janiel Balino. By the end of the set, all three crashers have woken up from their comas, and the energy on stage is absolutely electric. 

Saintsations’ theme was “Runaway From Freedom.” Their set followed two sisters, played by Addy Theut and Christina McKelvy, as they navigate a better life away from an abusive home

environment. Their set included songs Freedom (Beyoncé), Freedom (Pharrell Williams), “Runaway” with soloists Addy Theut and Christina Mckelvy, “Hold On”, and “Something in the Water” with soloists Jordan Baker and Gigi Miner. This set left an impact on the audience with each performance, and the talent in this group is unbelievable.

The Swingin’ Saints and Saintsations competed at four competitions this year between the months of January and March. They traveled to Blue Valley, Pleasant Hill, Smith Cotton, and Platte County high schools. Both choirs had outstanding performances at each competition, and they brought home many awards. These included 3rd in the unisex category for Saintsations and 3rd runner up and best vocals for the Swingin’ Saints. Swingin’ Saints freshman Matt Brun also won best male vocalist at three of the competitions the choirs competed at.

Although the show choir season is over, the Saints are still hard at work preparing for upcoming events. The choirs travel to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, on April 2 to perform their show choir sets and record music in Universal’s professional recording studio. Next, the annual Dinner Theater production and the seniors’ last choral event of the year will take place the first weekend in May. This event is open to all, so if you want to watch fun solos, enjoy a fun night filled with music, and show support to your favorite STA choirs as they sing and dance to the theme “Surf and Turf,” make sure to attend this special event!