By Josh Schorle

The choir and band departments have been preparing for the Swing Inn concert to be held on Thursday, Jan. 19. This concert will be in the AHS auditorium at 7:30 p.m., featuring students in show choir, Jazz 1, and Jazz 2.

The three show choirs will present their contest sets to the community. The sets  will feature a variety of music that comes from theater and pop genres. The performance will serve as a warmup for their upcoming season of competition.

Vocal music teacher Luke Johnson said, “If the groups can continue to improve, they should be very proud of themselves when going into competition season.”

Freshman Brecklyn Carey said, “Of course I have opening-night jitters, but I’m really excited and Mr. Johnson has been coaching us through our routine step by step, so I feel pretty confident about our upcoming performances.”

Junior Sarah Masker said, “Some of our songs are ready and some of them are not.”

The two jazz bands will present their competition sets as well. Jazz 1 will perform “Bison Blues,” “Letter from Home,” and “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart.”

Band teacher Jarrod O’Donnell describes Jazz 2’s set as “a crazy cat theme.” They will be performing “Fat Cat,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Dos Ghatos Bailando.”
O’Donnell commented on the bands’ readiness for Swing Inn and competition: “It seems the more we get together and play they are getting stronger and stronger, so yes I think both groups will be ready to perform at a high level for Swing Inn and their competitions this year.”

Junior Tiffany Braukman said, “For Jazz 2, we’re not all that ready. We could more ready than what we are.”