The TOP 25 is a select group of students from the Vocal Music Department at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio. The singers are chosen by audition for their singing and performance abilities. The show includes a variety of staged and choreographed show tunes, pop music, ballads, "oldies" and contemporary songs.

The Top 25 was founded in 1965, and is now in its thirty-second year of performances serving lake County and the northeastern areas of Ohio. The singers perform regularly for community events, schools, church organizations, banquets, business meetings and at festivals in northeast Ohio.

Performing tours in the United States have included travel to major cities on the east coast, west coast, and in between. They have traveled to Canada, Mexico, and many European countries, including Scandinavia, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.

As we end our 1996-1997 performance season in June, the Top 25 will travel to Denmark and Norway for a 10 day performance tour including stops in the cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Laerdal, and Bergen. There will be stops at historic and panoramic sites including 8 to 10 performances.

The Top 25 is under the direction of Terry DiFranco Herschman. Mrs. Herschman has been the vocal music director at Ridge Junior High School for 19 years. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Kent State University in 1977 and Master of Music degree from Kent State in 1987. She is the Treasurer for OMEA District 7, immediate past president and current vice-president of the Lake County Music Educators' Association, and an active adjudicator for OMEA sponsored events. In the Fall of 1996, Mrs. Herschman's article regarding Solo & Ensemble adjudication, "Choosing Music", was published in the TRIAD publication of the Ohio Music Education Association.

Assistant Director, Amy Bender has taught music in the Mentor schools for 16 years. She received a Bachelor of Education from Baldwin Wallace College in 1981, and a Master of Education with an emphasis in guidance and counseling, in 1994, from John Carroll University. Mrs. Bender is an accomplished pianist and has worked with many Mentor choirs, instrumentalists and vocalists in our schools and at church as an expert accompanist. She is currently working at both Headlands and Center Street school.

The Top 25 Show has been choreographed by Laurel Milcoff Hart. Laurel is a native of Cleveland Heights who spent 25 years in Washington D.C., before moving back to Chagrin Falls. She majored in Secondary Education at George Washington University and earned her Masters Degree in higher education at Ohio State. She has studied ballet, tap, and jazz. She is both a choreographer and performer and has appeared as Connie in CHORUS LINE, Sally Bowles in CABARET, and Charity in SWEET CHARITY. She is proudest of the two productions created with her drummer husband, Bill: their two children Cassie and Justin!