Xavier’s Xhilaration ready to shine

CEDAR RAPIDS - Some lead verbally, others by example.

But 'everyone is getting along ... for once,” said junior Max Johnson, a member of Xhilaration. Xavier High School's varsity show choir.

The group, with 52 members, started with rehearsals in July, but the official show choir season, or as some say, the fifth season of Cedar Rapids, does not start until January.

The group practices from 6 to 9 p.m. every Monday, and 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The rehearsals are lead by the group's director, Matt Walker, but several students step up to assume leadership positions at various times during practices.

'The sophomores have brought us to a whole new level that a lot of us weren't expecting, and the seniors have really stepped up as leaders,” Johnson said.

Rehearsal is not the only place Xhilaration members need to excel. In addition to performing their best on stage, the students need to maintain healthy grades in the classroom in order to participate in the competition season.

'Last year we had a lot of rehearsal, but we didn't have a lot of high-quality rehearsal, and you could tell that when you watched our show,” senior Catie Locher said. 'But this year I feel like it will be different. I think the rehearsal work ethic is higher than it has ever been.”

Several members of Xhilaration agree the bond between the performers is really something special this year.

'I feel like we just didn't get along last year, so we didn't want to work together,” Locher said.

The practices are typically structured, starting with a run of the show. After that, Walker starts the 'cleaning” process. 'Cleaning” is another name for combing through the details of the show.

'What drives them? I think - and this goes for a lot of things here at Xavier - it's the desire to be great,” Walker said. 'And if you're going to spend as much time on something - as much time as we do - then its worth it to put in the effort and really progress and be successful.”

The team took the stage for its first competitive performance last week in Ankeny. Over the course of the season, Xhilaration will compete at five different events and be showcased at one.

'There's a lot of things at show choir competitions that we have no control over - it's very subjective,” Walker said. 'So I'm not going to worry about five people's random opinions as much as are we doing everything that we can to get better.”