Butler’s Music Department Brings HS Music Students to Campus

Butler Community College is hosting its 37 annual Show Choir Festival on Nov. 19 at the El Dorado campus. More than 350 students from 15 area high schools will join the Vocal Music Department for the day. Some of the high schools represented include: Andover, Augusta, Circle, Clearwater, Collegiate, Maize South, Newton and Wichita West high schools. The high schools will have a chance to work with guest clinician Clayton Winters, participate in various workshops and clinics with Butler Vocal Music and Dance faculty, and perform in the 7 p.m. concert. 

Students start arriving early in the morning and finish the day with a performance showcasing each ensemble. The Butler Headliners are hosting the event and will perform their 30-minute show “From Page To Stage” at 2 p.m. in the Butler Theatre. Along with Winters, vocal music professors Valerie Mack, Matthew Udland and Chad Ingram and El Dorado’s Broadway-alum, Katie Banks-Todd, will direct and teach the students.

The guest clinician, Clayton Winters, has worked professionally on stage, in film, commercials and print for two decades. Clayton received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Oklahoma and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Winters is a member of Actor’s Equity Association (AEA) and has appeared in lead roles across the country. As a member of Arrows International Dance Company, he toured and taught in Costa Rica and China. Most recently in Wichita, he played Jim in “Pump Boys and Dinettes” at The Forum Theatre Company.