The Webb City Choir Boosters are especially eager to present their annual Southwest Show Choir Showcase Saturday because they had to cancel last year’s event because of the pandemic.

More than 20 choirs are expected to perform beginning at 9 a.m. at the high school’s Ronald R. Barton Performing Arts Center.

They’re traveling from as far as Troy, on the far side of the state. Even farther, the latest choirs to be added are national competitors from Decatur, Ill., and Mt. Zion, Ill.

In order to keep students and their fans from being gathered tightly as much as possible while waiting to enter the auditorium, the time alloted for each performance has been lengthened.

As a result, there will be no finals competition among the top rated choirs.

The awards presentation, tentatively slated for 8:30 p.m., will be moved to the more spacious Cardinal Dome.

Webb City’s three high school choirs and two junior high choirs will perform in exhibition to be evaluated by the judges.

Webb City won eight awards Saturday, March 6, at the Joplin show:

• Best crew
• Bella Vocé – best opener
• Gavin Phillips – best male vocalist
• Webb City Singers – 3rd place class 5
• DoMENance – 2nd place bass choir
• Bella Vocé – 1st place treble choir
• Bella Vocé – overall 5th runner up
• Webb City Singers – overall 4th runner up

“Any normal year this would have meant two choirs would have advanced to finals,” says a proud Melinda Benham, choral director. 

“I want to send a huge shoutout to all of our kids, our amazing Booster parents, the phenomenal arrangers and choreographers who work with us, the kindest bus drivers who came in to cheer us on, Ms. (Laurie) Brower who has created an amazing junior high program and our very own Mrs. (Terri) Rushing who is far more important to the program than the title ‘accompanist’ could ever describe.”

Here’s the preliminary performance lineup for Saturday:

9:00 – Carthage Suite Sounds

9:30 – Joplin Touch of Class

10:00 – Carthage JH Sound Machine

10:30 – Mount Vernon Vocal Motion

11:00 – Carthage Soundwave

11:30 – Joplin Sound Dimension

12:00 – Lunch break

1:00 – Webb City DoMENance

1:30 – Hollister City Lights

2:00 – Pleasant Hill Powerhouse

2:30 – Troy Sound Wave

3:00 – Judges break

3:30 – Webb City Bella Vocé

4:00 – Pleasant Hill Hillside Singers

4:30 – WCJHS Euphonics

5:00 – WCJHS Polyphonics

5:30 – Dinner break

6:00 – East Newton Patriot Singers

6:30 – McDonald County Rhapsody ‘N’ Rhythm

7:00 – Troy Express

7:30 – Pleasant Hill Hilltop Harmony

8:00 – Webb City Singers

8:30 – Awards ceremony