It didn’t take long for Dwenger High School’s new drama/Summit Sound Show Choir director, Sue Nelson, to get immersed in the group’s activities.

She brought people and resources together quickly for a fall production of “Miracle on 34th Street.”

Now, wearing her choral hat, Nelson is taking the Summit Sound Show Choir for competitions starting in January and running through March. They’ve already performed their show “Decades” at East Noble High School and performed Jan. 14 at Jay County High School.

“Our choir,” Nelson said, “has just 12 performers which gives us a lot of room for movement and dancing. It also means that we will be competing against choirs of similar size. We named our show ‘Decades’ because the styles of music start with the swing era of the 1940s and progress through Michael Jackson in the 1970s, ‘Footloose’ in the 1970s, Elton John in the 1980s and conclude with an exciting dance feature from ‘Tarzan’ in the early 2000s. They’re working really hard, sound good, maneuver well and are having a lot of fun.”

Nelson held a show choir workshop in October with a Dwenger graduate, Jenna Giron, who is now a choreographer living in the Chicago area. Giron worked with the students on their dance moves. The workshop also covered vocals, staging, costumes and makeup tips.

Part of her new position is to take some of her choir members to schools that feed into Bishop Dwenger High School. “In other words, we’ll be recruiting,” she said. “The kids will put on an abbreviated show in costume and hype the program. A male member will talk and emphasize that boys can do both the arts and sports.

“It’s really fulfilling and exciting to watch the kids grow musically and learn new styles of music that they have never performed before. They’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, everything is beginning to come together nicely and they’re having a lot of fun. And that makes it fun for me, too.”

Nelson, a native of Wakarusa, Indiana, began her teaching career at New Carlisle, Indiana, where she introduced musical theater to students who had never seen a show before. From there she went to Leo High School and then to Harding High School which was just being built. She had a hand in designing the theater facilities and taught there 20 years. She also taught at South Side High School and ended her career at Eastside High School. She was relaxing in Florida in semi-retirement when she heard about the Dwenger opening.

Watch this site and read the Northwest News for news of other events and lists of participating choirs: Northrop Classique, Feb. 4; Carroll Classic, Feb. 10 & 11; DeKalb Choir Festival, Feb. 11; Homestead Classic Showcase, Feb. 17 & 18; Huntington North Midwest Showcase, Feb. 24 & 25; Churubusco Show Choir Invitational, March 4; Columbia City Cup, March 10 & 11; and Bishop Luers Midwest Show Choir Invitational, March 4.