MUNCIE, Ind. -- State-of-the-art wireless technology will help the celebrated Ball State University Singers sound and dance better than ever in their 35th-anniversary show April 17.

Twenty new headset microphones purchased this year with $60,000 in alumni donations will enhance the singing, choreography and staging in the group’s energetic Spectacular ’99 musical variety show at 7:30 p.m. in Emens Auditorium.

General admission tickets are $5 with reserved seating $12 at the Emens Box Office and Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone (765) 644-3131. Ball State student tickets are free in advance.

The 40-student University Singers are part of the Ball State School of Music, College of Fine Arts, and have become known as one of the nation’s top collegiate entertainment groups. As Indiana’s Official Goodwill Ambassadors, they have performed across the United States and in a dozen other countries since 1964.

Spectacular ’99 features the group’s trademark pop, classic, jazz and show tune repertoire with arrangements and lighting design by alumni professionals and new 35th-anniversary costumes from Rivar’s Custom Show Apparel of Albany, Ind.

This year the Singers are making the most of new wireless microphones worn by each singer/dancer. The equipment replaces the traditional stationary microphones on stands, marking the Singers’ first major sound system upgrade since the mid-1970s.

"We have leaped over a couple of generations of technology, and we’re at the leading edge," said faculty producer/director Fritz Mountford. "Now our kids are using the same technology that is used in theme parks, cruise ships and industrial shows."

The Singers unveiled the new system in February for a benefit show that raised $10,000 for the family of a premature baby at Riley Hospital for Children.

Headset mikes provide better sound since they are only inches away from each performer’s mouth, and they don’t restrict movement, Mountford said. Deana DeHart of Busch Gardens Williamsburg has helped the Singers experiment with new choreography.

"The audience will hear clearly the full beauty and color of their amazing voices as they never have before," Mountford said. "It also frees us up to expand the visual part of the show."

Spectacular ’99 includes popular hits such as "Jump, Jive and Wail," Gloria Estefan’s "Party Time," Madonna’s "Vogue" and No Doubt’s "You Can Do It," plus Maurice Ravel’s "Bolero" and Disney favorites from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Jungle Book."

Broadway classics from "Miss Saigon," "Sweeney Todd," "Dream Girls" and "Will Rogers Follies" join jazzy tunes such as "Fats" Waller’s "Spreadin’ Rhythm Around" and "Jelly Roll" Morton’s "King Porter Stomp" on the program.

The Singers also perform material from "Fred Waring’s America" and the Waring Library--Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein’s "All the Things You Are," Irving Berlin’s "Let Me Sing and I’m Happy," the Andrew Sisters’ "Tico Tico" and Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael tunes "So in Love" and "The Nearness of You."

Several Singers alumni and students have contributed arrangements of songs, and "Every Time You Smile" was written by student Jeremy Roth and alumnus Brian Fowler.

Lighting for the show has been designed by alumnus Bobby Browder of The Show Department in Chicago, a major producer of industrial shows that is also providing some equipment. The production staff also includes students Shawn Eck, associate producer and choreographer; Kevin Kinyon, band director; Andrea Fulda, dance captain; and Jason Bolte, sound engineer.

The Emens Auditorium Box Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and an hour before the show. Phone: (765) 285-1539. The School of Music’s Concert HotLine is (765) 285-5878.