The History of Music Warehouse
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In 1975, Verda and Jim Savage were looking to return to southern Indiana after living in El Paso, Texas for two years. Jim was looking to finish his college career at Indiana University, so Verda looked for a choral position in the area. The location was a high school seven miles west of Bloomington - Edgewood High School in Ellettsville, IN. Edgewood had no established choral program, and no teacher had lasted for more than a year in recent history.
After being hired into the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation, Verda reached out to Robert "Bob" Stoll, founder and then-director of the Indiana University "Singing Hoosiers." With his help, Verda established the choral curriculum at Edgewood. The first group – Newcomers Revue – was made of just 20 students.
That same year, Verda's college friend, Ron Hellems, told her about a new form of music and entertainment growing in the Midwest - "show choir." Ron was the choral director at Norwell High School at the time, and Verda wanted to learn more about the idea of putting singing and dancing together into a "show." With a group of students in tow, Verda headed to Ft. Wayne, IN and Bishop Luers High School, where the first show choir invitational was held. At the time, Bishop Luers was the only show choir competition - so any choral group wanting to put together a competitive show headed to the small catholic school each year. After seeing the performances, Verda decided to bring Music Warehouse to the competition. Within five years, Music Warehouse was named Grand Champion of the prestigious contest.
In 1976, the first musical was performed. "Li'l Abner," based on the comic strip, was a huge success. Not only did musicians and singers participate, but student athletes and artists were involved in creating the experience.
For the second year of the group, Newcomer’s Revue changed its name to Music Warehouse. It’s believed that Verda’s late husband, Jim Savage, came up with the name. The second group had 28 members and received first place honors at the Indiana State University Swing Choir Invitational Contest in Terre Haute in November 1976.
During those early years Verda was doing double-duty - teaching at both the high school and junior high. One day a sixth-grade student, JD Cowden, asked if Verda needed any additional performers. Verda answered "yes," and the next day 106 sixth graders appeared and joined the choral program. That sixth-grade class followed through with their commitment to the program - they went on to win Grand Champion honors at the Bishop Luers Show Choir Invitational in 1981 and 1982.
EHS football coach Bob Manuszak also played a significant role in the early years of Music Warehouse. Manuszak came to Verda one day after noticing her crying in the teacher's lounge. She told him she was discouraged with the number of high school men in the group. The next day, Coach Manuszak encouraged four football players to join the choir, and many other athletes followed in the days and years that followed.
In the late 1970s Music Warehouse was becoming known in the region, and entertaining at area schools, private functions and community events. There were even performances on local Bloomington television stations – sadly those recording are lost to time.
Heading into the 1980s, Music Warehouse set a standard of excellence in the growing world of show choir. 1981 and 1982 brought back-to-back championships at the exclusive Bishop Luers Midwest Swing Choir Invitational in Ft. Wayne, IN. The groups received numerous honors, with individual instrumentalists receiving special acknowledgements. In 1983 the group took its first out-of-state trip to compete in New York City, winning Grand Championship honors again. A few years later Music Warehouse traveled to the west coast, competing in California at the Young Americans Invitational. Costumes and sets became more elaborate, shows became more physical with precise dancing and theatrics added to turn the production into an abbreviated Broadway show.
In 1985 Verda created the Sophisticated Ladies show choir – an all-female competing choir. Sophisticated Ladies came on strong, joining Music Warehouse on a variety of competitions and setting a bar for other unisex choirs across the country.
In April 1987, the passing of Verda's husband and Music Warehouse choreographer Jim Savage brought a solemn time for the group and community. That fall, Marty DeMott - a graduate of Ball State University - became the new choreographer for Music Warehouse. Todd Carr joined in as musical arranger, and the trio stepped into a new chapter in the group's history. The group won its third Grand Championship at Bishop Luers in 1989, along with a Grand Championship in New York City that same year.
The 1990s brought even more success and notoriety to Edgewood's premier show choir. From 1991 to 2000, Music Warehouse was named Grand Champion each year but one. 1991 was especially memorable, as the unveiling - or perhaps unvelcroing - of the "strip dress" occurred on stage at Bishop Luers High School. With the opening chord of Madonna's hit song "Vogue," the fog machines pumped white smoke onto the stage, with the performers all in black and white. Once “Vogue” concluded, the drumsticks clicked and the band began "Takin' Care of Business" – and twenty-some women turned on cue and the stage instantly switched from black to bright blue sequins. A new level of showmanship began!
Three major events occurred in 1993 - the first being the loss of senior Lori Sermersheim in a car accident. The group vowed to honor her memory for the rest of the season. In April the first Contest of Champions, Edgewood's own show choir invitational, was held, followed by the first annual Tis the Season holiday concert in December.
By the early 2000s, show choir mania was coast-to-coast. High schools not only had their premier mixed choirs but also single-gender and beginner groups - and middle schools were just as active on the competition circuit. National contests became the goal for many groups, and Music Warehouse - often joined by the Sophisticated Ladies and New Edition show choirs from Edgewood and Mini Warehouse from Edgewood Junior High - continued to be strong competitors. Top six placements were common for the groups, and three Grand Championships were bestowed on Music Warehouse in the decade.
2012 was a transitional year. In early February Verda was traveling in Missouri when she was involved in a near-fatal car accident. In addition to her injuries, she suffered a stroke. As Verda healed and recuperated out of state, a team of people came together to help guide Music Warehouse that year, led by Edgewood Band Director Aaron Wells. The group won Grand Championship honors at the FAME Orlando national competition, and Verda recovered enough to make a surprise appearance at Contest of Champions that April, and directed the group in the spring concert. However, through these challenges Verda made the decision to resign from her role at Edgewood. Brian Paulsen, the long-time director of the Edgewood Junior High Choral Department, had been leading his groups to consistent success for several years. Upon Verda's departure, Brian became the director of the high school program.
After leaving Edgewood, Verda taught at Lafayette Jefferson High School, leading the top show choirs for nearly a decade. She made the decision to come home to southern Indiana, where she taught in Salem, IN before finally retiring in 2023. However, Verda is still sought after for her skills as a clinician and judge - so she is still heavily involved with the show choir world. In fact, she has returned to Edgewood several times to judge at Contest of Champions.
Over the next 13 years, Music Warehouse continued the standard of excellence it had established from Day One. Brian led Music Warehouse to annual Grand Championships each year from 2013 to 2020. The pandemic brought challenges for all show choirs - how do you have partners and interactive choreography while maintaining social distancing? - but the groups continued to compete across the country and receive Top Six recognition as well as Best Choreography, Best Vocals, Best Soloists, Best Band, Best Crew and other honors. Brian's talents kept Contest of Champions and Tis the Season as highlights for the students and show choir world, and his musical arrangements have been crucial to the ongoing success of the Edgewood High School Choral Department.
In the spring of 2026, Brian resigned from Edgewood High School. The transition left an opening before the end of the school year - and Verda was hired back as interim choir director. Using the foundations built by Brian, Verda led Music Warehouse and Sophisticated Ladies to their final competition of the season at the Fame Show Choir National Finals in Branson, MO. Sophisticated Ladies won Grand Champion honors in their division (their first of the season) and Music Warehouse came in 1st runner-up.
There are many individuals who helped build Music Warehouse into the performing group it is today. J. Kevin Buter met Verda in conducting class when he was an undergraduate at Indiana University in the late 1970s. Kevin was eager to try out his vocal ideas and offered to provide voice lessons to Music Warehouse members. Kevin taught students in Verda and Jim Savage's home, and was an integral part of the success of Music Warehouse in the early 1980s. Ruth Bailey, Verda's high school choir teacher, provided encouragement to Verda in those early years - and Ruth went on to form her own successful show choir in New Albany, Indiana. Patsy Powell, an elementary school teacher in the RBB system, would provide lists to Verda of young students with promising musical ability. Those lists would help nurture the love of music in students during their years in school.
As 50 years approaches, the Music Warehouse family have made lasting marks in their communities, personally and professionally. The group has been fortunate to have valedictorians and salutatorians as members, as well as student athletes and musically-gifted individuals. Beyond the doors of Edgewood, Music Warehouse alumni have become doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, educators, elected officials and most importantly, good people - and many alumni still keep music as a key part of their lives. Many alumni have even gone into musical careers, performing as soloists or in groups, as well as performing on stages and teaching singing and dancing to new generations of show choir students. The group was even recognized in the 2011 book Sweat, Tears and Jazz Hands: The Official History of Show Choir by Mike Weaver and Colleen Hart.
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