The Winter Swing Show is known for hosting performances of great talent from West’s choristers. Displays include the Good Time Company — West’s varsity show choir — and Showtime, the junior varsity group. This year’s showcase had nothing short of that same talent, as several solos, dance numbers and smaller acts took the stage to define to the audience what West High stands for: excellence above all.
Vox Novus, West choirs’ acapella group, opened the show, singing “When The Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish. Lovella Varner ’27 took the stage next to perform “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey before Luke Reimer ’27 sang Adam Guettel’s “How Glory Goes.” The first section of solo and group acts finished with Greta Gromacki ’26 and Emma Lai ’28’s duet of “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane.
Showtime then performed their program “Level Up,” starting with “Choose Your Fighter” featuring a solo by Mieka Hedt ’28. Next were numbers “Pokémon Theme” with soloist Isaac Nelson ’29 and “Blood on the Dance Floor” with soloist Stellah Verry ’29. Showtime finished with “Speed Me Up” / “Digital World” with solos by Camden Vaughn ’29 and Mar Nourski ’29.
After “Level Up,” student performances began again with Florence + The Machine’s “Cosmic Love” sang by Norah Connolly ’26, Eva Ortega Lopez ’26 and Tage Zimmermann ’26. The trio of seniors was followed by freshmen Ana Nodia, Ella Stone and Akiho Sugiyama performing “Snow” by Zach Bryan. Next under the spotlight were singers Clara Visser ’28 and Carter Wagner ’28 duetting “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Idina Menzel. The showcase finished with freshman Im Olszewski’s rendition of Laufey’s “Promise,” accompanied by Claire Reimer ’29 on the piano.
To finish the evening, GTC donned “Minecraft”-themed clothes for their first uniformed performance. The company opened with “Build It Up” / “I Feel Alive” highlighting solos by sophomore Emma Lai and senior Eva Ortega Lopez. They then performed “Mambo No. 5” / “Steve’s Lava Chicken” / “Another One Bites the Dust” / “Tubthumping” and “Sweden” / “Sound of Silence” / “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark.” GTC closed out the display with “Don’t Turn Out The Lights” / “Thriller” featuring solos by Carter Wagner ’28 and Derick Doresca ’26 and “Brand New Day” / “Just Playin’” / “I Play,” featuring a solo by Thaniel Rent ’28.
The show choirs’ next performances will be Choirs For A Cause at Liberty High School Jan. 7 and the Spring Swing Show March 1 at Arganbright Auditorium. Between those showcases, all concert choirs will collaborate with Northwest Middle School’s choir programs for the Midwinter Choral Concert Feb. 24.
