Dr. Patrick McCormick, director of choral activities at Prattville High School, remembers the first time that he watched a competitive show choir.

“Whatever this is,” he told the colleague who introduced it to him, “it is not singing. That is not a proper vocal technique. They are screaming.”

At the time, McCormick was starting as the director of choral activities at Albertville Middle School in Albertville, Alabama and assistant director at Albertville High School. The new opportunity incorporated a competitive middle school show choir and two competitive high school show choirs. For all his years as a serious student of music, he was, to use his words, “ignorant” and “close-minded” when it came to show choir.

He set out to learn, traveling throughout the United States discussing show choir with directors,and observing show choir rehearsals and performances, which ultimately changed his perspective. “It’s a completely different sound, and I wasn’t accustomed to it,” he says. “But quickly I understood, ‘Okay, I can buy into this. This is fun. Show choir is very engaging for this generation, and it’s so innovative—it allows you to tap into your creative mind and create things that no one has ever seen before.”

When the pandemic hit McCormick had just hit his groove at Albertville, and schools quickly shifted to remote learning. The pandemic ended his time at Albertville, but after spending some time at other schools, he got the call to become the director of choral activities at Prattville High School which included directing Spotlight—a small mix competitive show choir entering its 28th season this year.

While its tradition and success loom large, Spotlight’s size is small, with just 13 students this year. Shortly after McCormick arrived at Prattville High School, he discovered that roughly 66 percent of the current show choir members would graduate following the 2024 season. Spotlight went from 29 members in 2023 to 14 members in 2024, and 10 of the 14 were seniors. McCormick was able to recruit nine new members to join Spotlight for the 2024-2025 season, and he believes that this year’s group has a great opportunity to be successful.

“I’m excited because I have a lot of students who have never done show choir before,” he says, “and now I can teach them, ‘this is what facials are, this is what blocking is.’ It is something some of these students have never experienced before.”

McCormick adds: “What I have learned is it is not about the size of the group; it is the quality of the group. We had not won our division in years here at Prattville, and last year we did it. We placed at nearly every single competition last season.” The only exception was an open division competition in Texas—where groups of all sizes competed together—but they still won best overall female performer.

Spotlight is now the seventh-ranked small mixed-show choir in the South and the second-ranked in Alabama. “The kids I have this year are good, they are determined, and that is what it is all about. Everyone is buying in. Meanwhile, the older kids are educating the new kids on what show choir is. It is a beautiful thing to see.”

Building a Show Choir Community

McCormick, who earned his PhD in Music Education from Auburn University last year and wrote his dissertation on “Keeping Choir in Show Choir,” says he continues to research and learn. He encourages his kids to do the same, inviting them to watch videos of other groups and offer critiques in class. McCormick also goes to Showchoir Camps of America—where students come from all over to hone their skills and get rare opportunities to see Broadway performers in an intimate setting—every year, a rare chance to network with other show choir directors.

Seeing the value in those annual events prompted McCormick to launch the National Association for Show Choir (NASC), which currently boasts about 225 members on Facebook.

“As I’ve grown as a director, I’ve made so many connections, built so many friendships, and have so many mentors,” he says. “I want to see more show choirs doing that moving forward. As directors, we tend to go back to our cubicles and not talk to each other. I am trying to connect all the directors and future directors so we can continue to move competitive show choir forward.”

At Prattville High School, he would like to see the concert choir course added as an option for students, giving him another venue to teach the fundamentals of singing and giving him somewhere else to pull from  in building up the show choir. McCormick would also like to see better collaboration between band and show choir, including coordinating schedules to make it easier for students to do both if they want to. (This year he successfully recruited a trumpet player from the band, who will not only sing but also play in performances.)

One recent innovation was adding a new show to the calendar year :Halloween Spooktacular at the end of October. “It helps serve as an intro to their competition show, gets their feet wet, gets them learning simple choreography and such, and then they’re ready to learn a completely different show for November.”

This year’s competition show itself is a departure, with a theme of challenges service men and women face after returning from overseas missions. He says it hits close to home in Prattville, home to many military families.

“I’ve paired up with Maxwell Air Force Base here, and their psychologist is going to come talk to the group and help put it in perspective,” he says. “In the end, our message is that you can get out of this darkness you’re in, and the reason I’m doing this show is I see the effects in my students when their parents are grappling with these issues.” The choir will also hold a fundraiser in January to benefit a local veterans’ association.

Anything Goes

Talk with McCormick for a while, and you get the sense that he sees every challenge as an opportunity, including his transition from show choir skeptic to one of its biggest champions (“I would like to wear a button that says, ‘Ask me about show choir,’ he says.) If the kids do not have a foundation in proper vocal technique, he is ready to teach them, helping them build the endurance they need to make sure they can still hit the high notes as a performance nears its end. Show choir gives him the chance to write whatever show he wants and incorporate music no one expects—including this year a song by the heavy-metal group Five Finger Death Punch.

Most of all, McCormick loves challenging the students themselves. “It’s amazing to watch the students grow throughout the year in their confidence,” he says. “Show choir is more than just the costumes, music, choreography, and competing. They learn life-long lessons here. I have students come back and tell me how much show choir has helped them get out of their shells when they get to college. They are confident in who they are, and they learn that in show choir.”

He continues: “I want them to enjoy the journey. I tell them over and over, ‘My passion is to see you guys get on that stage and just pour your heart out and realize your full potential. I see your potential. You may not see it, but I do!’”