One, Two, Three... Pizzazz! My Forty Years in Competitive Show Choir (1977-2016)

Author: Dave Willert

ISBN 978-1-947532-71-7 (hardcover)

592 pages

I had the pleasure of directing high school, junior high school and college show choirs, from 1977 until I retired in 2016. This book briefly chronicles the challenges and the successes inherent in that lifetime of adventure! My career, taking place in California, began with Norco High School, and then after hiring talented choreographer Doug Kuhl, we moved to Nogales High School (with a brief stint at Mount San Antonio College), then on to Diamond Bar High School and ending with both Brea Olinda High School and Brea Junior High. Doug, my wife, Margaret, the staff, students and I, totaling 160 different show choirs, covering 39 years of teaching, competed all over the country, and had the time of our lives! This book, One, Two, Three, Pizzazz, recreates that whole glorious story from the beginning to the end. It is written from my own viewpoint, my memoirs, as well as from the memories of my former students, parents and staff. This book is about dreams and making those dreams come true. It’s also about rising again after disappointment and learning to appreciate your efforts much more than the competition results! This is a story that deserves to be remembered... and through this book, it will be. Now, get ready for the show choir adventure of your life! One, Two, Three, Pizzazz!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dave Willert is an accomplished show choir director, who retired in 2016 after successfully teaching music and theatre for 39 glorious years. He is also the author of four previously published novels in the DIMENSIONS series; The Wheat Field, The Plethora, The Cloud Monsters and The Competition. He is happily married to his wife, Margaret, with one son, Alex, and has resided in Southern California for most of his life. He is best known as an award-winning show choir director, along with choreographer, Doug Kuhl, and a career that spanned parts of five decades! Dave's most important literary influences are Robert Heinlein, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut and Edgar Allen Poe. His most important musical influences include Mozart, J.S. Bach, George and Ira Gershwin, The Beatles, pop music, musical theatre and Disney's Richard and Robert Sherman.