For those who don’t know, I’ve been in and out of the high school show choir circuit for years. After swearing it off back in my “RENT” days, I got suckered back in when an old colleague took the Burbank High School job just up the street. Since then I’ve arranged a handful of songs each year for the many groups there, including their top group “In Sync.” A few years back I travelled to the East Coast with the kids, and watched them take home the Grand Champion trophy at FAME New York — I kinda surprised myself at just how into I got. Crazy!

So here I am five years later, and these kids are literally sweeping the nation. Aside from a second place finish at the first show of the season, they’ve won every competition they’ve been to this year, and people who know this world are saying they might just be the best group in the country now — edging out perennial powerhouse Clinton, Mississippi. That’s significant for me. But I can’t tell you why just yet…

In the meantime, check out the ballad they’re singing this year. It’s a song called “I See Light” by my friend Christy Crowl, which I’ve arranged for an eight-part a cappella chorus.