Wellington student Quinn McCue lands spot on Wichita ICT Flight Choir
by Amber Countryman, Sumner Newscow — Quinn McCue, an incoming Wellington High School junior, recently earned a spot on Wichita’s ICT Flight show choir.
Flight Choir, who just started its fifth season, is an area-wide competitive show choir. The non-profit organization was founded in August 2014 with the purpose of giving teens throughout the Wichita area the opportunity to participate in a competitive show choir setting. The group choir is directed by Kristina Sims, choreographed by Erik Hall and Kristina Sims.
“To get into the choir, every year you have to audition,” McCue said. “They don’t grandfather members, so everyone has an equal chance of getting in.”
Their mission is to inspire and enrich the lives of young people through fostering excellence in musicianship, performance technique, and citizenship, while they serve as ambassadors of the Greater Wichita area. Flight strives to instill confidence, teach responsibility, and build time management and organizational skills in an upbeat, positive environment.
As part of the audition, McCue participated in a very intense five day dance camp called Elevate. Participants learn singing and dancing parts to four songs in a week, then perform at a showcase in front of friends and family.
“It’s a bit more challenging in a show choir, in an absorbing information kind of way,” McCue said. “They make sure you have a good set of pipes on you, and who you are by asking random questions.”
Elevate is a week-long audition with a dance audition held on the last day of the camp using a segment of a dance that you learned in the camp.
“Basically, I thought I did better than I did last year,” McCue said. “I really had to focus on that and know what I was doing. It’s always kind of stressful with dancing, because you can turn wrong, or a lot of things could go wrong, and with singing it’s just words and pitch. Dancing is a new experience. Singing is kind of like running, and dancing is kind of like juggling swords, but I like the spicy adversity.”
Once the week-long camp ended, participants were required to perform in a dancing audition showcase in front of family and friends.
“Part of show choir and performing arts is to see how well you can cope with people watching you and how well you perform under that pressure,” McCue said. “My motto going in was that I am pretty good at singing, I just need to dance right on stage, and I’m golden.”
McCue was surprised when he received the news that he landed a spot on the show choir.
“Basically what happened, I was at a sleep over, and I didn’t wake up until late,” he said. “I got a call from my mom while I was sleeping asking if I had checked my messages. She said check and see what happened. I was thinking someone took my car or something.”
To let participants know they are in, company officials arrive at your home and clip a post card/baggage tag onto your doorstep and send you an email.
“My mother sent me a picture of that post card,” he said. “Once I saw that text, I woke up three people with a death screech. I just got my wallet, keys, phone, and went home. I said this is a dream, they are pranking me, this isn’t happening. When I got there, and it was real, I was in a euphoric state, then I checked my email and it said congratulations.”
During the summer, those who made the show choir are given assignments to keep them on track. The first rehearsal is in August.
“I am preparing myself for a show choir experience,” McCue said. “It is ungodly physically demanding, and they recommend cardio. After camp I was like right, they are recommending cardio. I am prepping for that and am pretty excited.”
Last year, McCue auditioned and didn’t make it in.
“I didn’t get in last year, and that hurt a bit,” McCue said. “I am essentially excited of the progress I have made by putting work into it. I have come a long way in a year. I called everyone on my contact list saying I got in. It was pretty fun.”
