Natick High School offers so many musical opportunities for students playing virtually every instrument under the sun. Natick students are incredibly fortunate to have access to so many choirs and bands. There are the two instrumental ensemble groups (Wind Ensemble and Concert Band), an intro to band class, Jazz Ensemble, String Orchestra, Musae, Concert Choir… the list goes on and on. However, despite the impressive number of groups that are offered here, rarely does NHS offer classes that combine instrumentalists, singers, and dancers all in one. West Street stands alone in that category.

West Street Singers is a class open to any grade level, but requires an audition to get in. However, according to Samantha Smith ’23, the audition process is nothing to worry about. Students must submit a small video of them dancing along to choreography and singing an assigned piece. Instead of scary, she argues “it [was] a very comfortable experience that [she] really enjoyed.” This even applied to the performers who were mostly new to dancing. Throughout the West Street Singers class, students improve their singing and dancing skills to the tune of a variety of different genres. In just five songs, this year’s West Street Singers have performed blues, pop, rock, and even Motown. This is one of the most exciting aspects of West Street, and it brings out different sides of each of the performers. JJ Gilbert ’23, choreographer and co-captain for West Street, argues that “so many styles can speak to a person and so many styles can allow people to express themselves”, so West Street’s diverse setlist is not an inconvenience; it’s a blessing. 

Joining the West Street Singers is West Street Sounds, a small accompanying band that plays in all of their concerts and competitions. Unlike West Street Singers, this group rehearses after school and is not a year-round commitment, although once competition season begins in early March, it takes up a significant portion of time. This can be beneficial for instrumentalists with little time to fully commit to a group year-round, but it stings all the more when it’s over. Speaking as their trombone player, West Street Sounds is really unique in the fact that each individual in the band is irreplaceable. Unlike the forty-person bands that most wind players are accustomed to, this year’s West Street Sounds was nine people. This makes it all the more important for instrumentalists to nail their parts; doing so can be the difference between dead last and a podium finish at a competition. 

At first, I was intimidated by this aspect of West Street Sounds. After all, the pressure of doing well is already high in a concert with dozens of people playing a similar part. How much more intimidating would it be to mess up on a stage where everyone is counting on me to get every note right? However, as I got more and more comfortable with my bandmates, I realized that I needed to look at this pressure in a different way. Instead of focusing on all the mistakes I might make, I chose to see it as an opportunity to learn my part and make a huge difference in the sound of the band, something that’s less possible to do in the ensemble groups where each individual’s sound rarely has a dramatic effect on the band overall. Taking this pressure off my back helped me have way more fun in the band.

The competitions themselves are exhilarating. Although every member of West Street was told this ahead of time by Ms. Burns, the director of West Street Singers and West Street Sounds, nothing could compare to what playing on those big stages was actually like. When every performance group came out, a loudspeaker introduced the group while fluorescent lights beamed down at the audience and moved all around the auditorium. When the announcer was finished, the lights went dark. Then, slowly, a circular white light appeared to showcase all of the performers. Singer and dancer for West Street, Elizabeth "Quigs" Quigley '25, believes these dramatic introductions “fill [performers] with adrenaline and get [them] pumped for the next set”, an important part of getting those elusive trophies, which West Street has had no problem doing: they’ve won four competitions in two short years.

Once we finished our performance, we headed back to our designated room, where the singers and dancers got changed and returned to the auditorium to watch the next groups until it was time to go. Because West Street is a smaller group, we were one of the first presenters, so we had to watch most of the groups after we had already performed. Some newcomers had thought that this would be the low point of the night, but many West Street students argue that it’s the exact opposite. JJ Gilbert defends watching the singers after, saying “it’s probably one of [his] favorite things to do”. Watching all of the passion and hard work these groups put in makes it feel like “you’re dancing alongside them”.

I think another reason it’s so fun to watch other groups is because of how great the community is. I know that there have been an infinite number of spotlight articles just like mine that talk about how friendly and welcoming everyone is in every club, but West Street (and show choir in general) fosters some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met. Not only is everyone in West Street super accepting and kind—to the point where I have quite literally made close friends in the span of ten minutes—but the show choirs from other schools are also incredibly skilled and friendly. Singer and dancer for West Street Anna Loughran echoes this sentiment, emphasizing how “everyone has been super talented and has such a drive and passion”. Anna also loves how “fun it is to meet new people” in show choir. One specific interaction that has never left my brain was when JJ walked over to greet a group that he really enjoyed watching, Paramount. Instead of saying thank you and moving on with their day, members from Paramount took the time to compliment specific things they liked about West Street’s performance, which led to JJ and a few others from Paramount beginning a conversation as if they had been long-time friends.

Overall, there’s an incredible amount of positivity that radiates in show choir. Whether it’s the excellently produced competitions, the positive communities at West Street and other groups around New England, or simply the comfort of playing in a smaller band where each player is filling in an entire section, it’s impossible to not fall in love with show choir.