This past month, the choir hosted its annual talent show where various acts performed their differentiating talents. The show has been a successful way to support the choir’s financial needs while simultaneously boosting students’ overall confidence and providing a way to share their uniqueness with friends and family.

Besides the event being interesting entertainment, it is also a contest for the students who decided to sign up and perform. There are three top place winners who received cash prizes of $50, $100, or $150 depending on their placement. The third place winners were freshman Lily Riedel and senior Jonathan English. The second place winners included seniors Maggie Babineaux and Rachel Belcher. Lastly, the first place winner was “High Rise,” a band that included sophomores Luke Spell, John Paul Sulak, Rylie Dollar and juniors Caleb Weaver and Steven Williams.

“The other performances were great,” Belcher said. “I was very impressed with all of the talent here at LCM!”

Even though the contestants were tense and filled with anxiety, they quickly felt the need to let themselves go, have fun and just be comfortable with their performance. All acts had zero issues with filling the room with nothing but smiles and cheering.

“I think the most difficult part was seeing everyone before the show and knowing that there were so many people watching us,” Babineaux said. “I love performing, although I’m usually very nervous, but it’s exciting.”

Preparing to perform in front of a fairly large crowd who you aren’t all too familiar with is not the most simplest concept. The participants put in large amounts of genuine practice, diligence, and time into making their performance one of their absolute best.

“My friend John Paul and I had practiced together for probably two months, but the whole band had only practiced once together and then performed it,” Spell said.

While the students chose to perform for the enjoyment and friendly competition, they also aimed to inspire others to show their own talents, and to know that nothing is wrong with being an individual.

“I hope that my performance will encourage others, considering that I’m a freshman who’s completely new to the district and showing my talent,” Riedel said. “I know LCM is full of talented people, so I hope I encouraged someone to get up there next year.”