In 1975, West High hosted its first iteration of Good Time Company. At its start, GTC —originally The West High Swing Choir— only consisted of 16 members before expanding to 28 members the following year. Unlike today’s GTC, the early show choirs didn’t compete and instead performed their show at different schools and locations in the community. Even so, the 1975 GTC was well known, including personal praise from Joyce Eilers, a nationally renowned choral composer who saw the show at a competition.

50 years later, West’s show choir program has grown to 101 students involved in GTC, including dancers, crew and band. Luigi Enriquez, GTC’s director, chose the theme “Homecoming” as a tribute to its 50th year, including songs such as “Coming Home” by Sheppard, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston and “Sadie Hawkins Dance” by Relient K.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Colin Wehrle

Belting into his microphone, Eli Asper '25 performs a solo during the Good Time Company’s show, “Homecoming.” Various groups of West High students performed at Hancher Auditorium for the annual Winter Swing Show Dec. 13.

“The name ‘Good Time Company’ was started in 1975, so we thought 50 is a great year to celebrate,” Enriquez said. “We wanted to honor the past 50 years of show choir, and that evolved into having a theme of ‘Homecoming’ for show choir season.”

Avanley Jones ’25, a member of GTC, believes this year’s theme allows GTC to showcase its strengths. 

“This year, we have such a great group and a class of super talented seniors. You can tell we all want to prove ourselves at competitions, and our ‘Homecoming’ theme will help show what we’re capable of. It’s fun, energetic and fresh, which will help us stand out at competitions,” Jones said.

Because the theme is relevant to students, Enriquez has noticed increased interest and excitement in competition preparation. 

“The group this year can really relate more to the theme because it’s a school celebration; they can really take on that school pride,” Enriquez said. “I’ve seen the kids wanting to get better because they enjoy the songs and the overall theme, and that creates a better community with practice.”

Maya Hanna ’25 has been a singer and dancer in West’s show choir for four years and notes how each show choir theme creates a different environment.

“It takes a lot to get the balance right for every show because it’s different for every show based on what theme you’re doing. [You have to] balance between that, theater and even a jazzy style sometimes, versus a more open, operatic type [of singing],” Hanna said.

Similarly, Claire Lawler ’25, a pianist in GTC’s show band, notes how performing in show band differs from other music organizations.

“It’s probably the least formal music organization [I’m] a part of. The director, Brandon Burkhart ’18, was a sophomore in college [during my first year] who loved everything [about] music, so we were all communicating and learning together as we were playing,” Lawler said. “Competitions aren’t very [formal] and [neither are] show band rehearsals working with the choir. ”

Hanna finds the collaborative community to be one of the most valuable aspects of show choir.

“[The people are like] your family — [they are] there for you — and are [in the same] performance together. We all hype each other up, and it’s fun to [experience] the little moments in between transitions,” Hanna said.

Like Hanna, Lawler believes the best part of show choir is building relationships with others. 

“Competitions give such a familial environment. It’s a ton of fun,” Lawler said. “[During] my freshman year competitions, the seniors acted like my older siblings, which I never got growing up, and it made me feel included. It’s having fun with your friends while doing something you love.”

By witnessing the excellence set by GTC alumni, Jones aspired to make her time at GTC meaningful. 

“My freshman year, my sister was a senior in GTC, and I was always in awe of their work ethic and the culture they created. A lot of seniors, like me, strive to get to that point and then surpass it. Seeing our capability and progress is what drives us to perform the best we can,” Jones said. “I originally joined because my older sister participated, but [show choir] is something I’ve come to love so much. Show choir’s going to be one of the things I miss most from high school.”

Though Jones won’t continue with show choir after high school, she is thankful for the opportunities she’s had at West. 

“In college, I’m planning to join whatever choir the school offers. I won’t be doing show choir again, but that community has surrounded me with my closest friends, and I can’t be more grateful. I’ll feel lucky if I can find even a tiny bit of that type of community again.”

Like Jones, many show choir alumni did not plan to return to the stage, but this year, some will find themselves performing again. Enriquez, alongside Showtime Director David Haas, have organized an alumni show choir to perform alongside GTC and Showtime at the Spring Swing show March 1-2. 

“There’s an alumni committee who’s going to do a reunion weekend on the same weekend as our spring shows. There’s a group of 30 [alumni] performing, but then there’s going to be 100 that are taking part in the weekend. The weekend is going to have a dinner and a meet and greet, and then the performance on Sunday for the alumni.”

Renee Zukin ’94, a member of the alumni committee, decided to help organize the anniversary because of her strong roots in the program. 

“Two of my kids were also in show choir when they went through West. My son, [Evan Zukin ’22] is now assistant directing. He’s helping with the choreography. I’m a big fan, so when I heard it was the 50th anniversary, I knew we had to do something to celebrate,” Zukin said.

As an event organizer, Zukin focused on celebrating the past while simultaneously looking to the future.  

“If we’re looking back on the 50th year, one of the things that’s really important to me and why I’m really invested in this process is [to] support the future of the program. Today, I see the challenges of school and life five years out of a pandemic that changed a lot of things, especially in the arts,” Zukin said. “Music and art can really be a beautiful place for students to land, where they can express themselves in ways they can’t otherwise.  I want to make sure the program is supported, so many kids can participate as they want to, regardless of whatever challenge might be in the way.”

GTC can also be seen at their competitions, the soonest being Benton’s “A Touch of Class” at Benton Community High School Jan. 18. 

Now in the middle of her final show choir season, Jones is excited to see the show choir’s work pay off. 

“Getting to reflect at the end of each season is so rewarding because you get to see all the hard work pay off,” Jones said. “At our last competition each year, we circle up, hold hands and sing the ballad. It always feels magical to look around and see how people have grown.”