First Edition Article Questions

1. When Lynn and I came to Lafayette Jeff most of the students here were not familiar with the growing show choir and show choir competition movement. So we shared with all the students some videos of the competitions thinking that we could start a competitive show choir during the next year. However, some of the seniors in the choir program came to us and asked us if we could start one immediately so they could get a chance to be a part of it. We agreed to try and after holding auditions for anyone in the school, First Edition was born.

Both Lynn and I came from schools that had competitive show choirs Lynn from Noblesville HS and I had taught at Bloomington High School South.

We both had competed at the Bishop Luers Swing Choir Invitational which at that time was the premiere show choir contest in country.

Other outstanding groups at that time were the Carmel Ambassadors, Edgewood Music Warehouse, Marion 26th Street Singers, Mt. Zion Swingsations to name just a few.

We knew that the kids at Lafayette Jeff had the talent to be really good but we didnt know if they would make the commitment to really excel at this new endeavor. They quickly proved they were up to the challenge.

2. It really was quite easy. The students at Jeff liked the idea of competing with other schools and showing what they could do. The parents got on board almost as quickly. The administration led by then principal, Denny Blind, were extremely supportive and as we had tremendous success in our first few years, the community really jumped on the bandwagon.

3. Like I said, I came to Jeff after teaching a couple of years at Bloomington HS South. Prior to that I was the musical director for the Chicago Childrens Choir. But the best experience I had in preparation for founding and directing First Edition was my years as a member of the Singing Hoosiers of Indiana University and as their Associate Director with Professor Robert E. Stoll. I was hired as one of two choral directors at Jeff along with Lynn Lupold. My primary responsibilities were A Cappella Choir, Varsity Singers and at that time, Sophomore Mens Chorus. I really enjoyed working with Lynn. Our strengths and talents as teachers complemented each other and we grew to be good friends.4. After leaving Jeff I taught at two other high schools, Columbus East HS and Hamilton Southeastern HS, but because of the success of First Edition I was constantly in demand as a vocal coach and clinician, adjudicator for show choir competitions and teacher at numerous summer show choir camps. I now serve as the Director of Music for the First United Methodist Church of Columbus, IN.5. When I directed First Edition I also was the choreographer for the group.6. Keeping a group united is always one of the most difficult jobs that a director has. I never spent a lot of time on bonding activities, but rather tried to unify the group through the music we sang. Working constantly on making each song have a personal meaning for each individual in the group as well as for the whole group. We tried to dedicate ourselves to being the best we could be and to be unique in the way we did our shows, so that other groups wanted to be like us. We tried always to do it the First Edition way and to let the chips fall where they may. I think we were pretty successful at it.I hope this helps if you need any further information or clarifications just let me know. I would love to see the final article. Good luck with it!

J. Kevin Butler