National Champions!
The Cathedral GLEE Club wins First at the NATIONAL Show Choir Canada Competition
The Cathedral Glee Club won FIRST place in its division of Small Ensemble Non-Arts School at the NATIONAL Show Choir Canada on Saturday April 12th at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. This Competition attracts show choirs from all of Canada and includes the show choirs from the specialty arts schools. Topping that achievement, Cathedral GLEE also came away with three additional honours of First Place Awards in the division: Best Vocals, Best Choreography, and Best Overall Show Design. Overall, Cathedral GLEE was ranked Fourth in all of Canada for all show choirs (that is including even the Arts Schools). As a result of the Fourth place overall standing nationally, the enthusiastic group of young talent from Cathedral, along with teacher-director Justin Leroux and coaches Simone Caruso and Dee Vidallon went forward the next day and competed with some of the best Show Choirs in North America. At the Competition on Sunday, Cathedral GLEE came away with a solid and well-earned seventh place in all of North America. This was the first Competition ever for Cathedral GLEE and the fantastic and incredible showing makes the school, the Board and the city of Hamilton proud!
In preparation for the Show Choir Competition and hoping to gain much from just the experience of competing, GLEE prepared and practiced since January. Countless of hours and going three to four days every week, GLEE worked extremely hard and with much dedication on its set list.
The GLEE Club was left in wonderment and awe in learning of its recognition and earning First. The goal, according to Mr. Leroux, was “ just to go there, do what we love to do (which is perform) and ultimately have fun.”
In his response when asked what was significant for him, Mr. Leroux replied: “My favourite part of the day occurred when one of the judges said that the Cathedral Glee Club was their favourite performance of the day, because we performed with nothing but passion,’ they were an absolute pleasure to watch.’ I was so proud of that comment because that is the only thing I ever ask of my students: to have fun and perform with passion! We did not have fancy costume changes or set pieces, but rather we performed with heart and passion. The judges saw this and ultimately that is what allowed us to walk home with some hardware. “
With exceptional and outstanding assistance from Simone Caruso, voice coach and Dee Vidallon, choreographer, GLEE was perfectly prepared to give their best and to sing out with song and dance.
Best Show Design recognized Mr. Leroux’s exceptional show direction. In recognition of the invaluable role fulfilled by the coaches, Best Vocals (Ms Caruso) and Best Choreography (Ms Vidallon) were two of the categories earning top praise and honours. Overall First Place placed focused recognition of the incredible talent of the whole GLEE Club.
Mr. Leroux, coaches Ms Caruso and Ms Vidallon all noted that words cannot express how surprised they were in winning because this was their first competition, but in all honesty, they were so incredibly proud of the students who “performed like true champions with hearts of gold.”
The Show Choir Canada Competition included this in its program booklet:
The CHS Glee Club is from Cathedral High School in Hamilton Ontario. Under the Direction of Justin Leroux, Vocal Coach Simone Caruso, and Choreographer Dee Vidallon, the group has been performing since 2010. CHS Glee takes pride in all of their work that they do for their school and Hamilton Community. Performing for retirement homes, Inner City Kidz, and most importantly raising over $10,000 for the McMaster Children’s Hospital from proceeds from their shows. Needless to say, these very talented young people are more than just performers; they are people with hearts of gold. This is their first competition and are just really grateful for having this opportunity.