There was so much good show choir going on in Nebraska this year – almost too much to be true! A panel of three regional experts ranked the state’s top 25 varsity show choirs for this year’s end-of-season HomeRoom rankings.
1. Gretna “Revolution” (3 first-place votes)
If 2023 was the breakout season that put Gretna on the map, 2024 was the season that made Revolution a household name. Last year was no slouch – two wins and no placements outside the top three – but 2024 was one of those years that will be looked upon for a long time. Revolution was 12-of-15 on major captions this year and never lost. From a piano on stage to another great Cameron Bothwell solo to a show that’s so emotional that the parents knew to bring tissue boxes, 2024 was one for the ages. Should the team of Katelyn Wallace, Stephen Todd and Dakota Mathew stick around, the next Nebraska show choir dynasty may be in the cards.
2. Lincoln East “Express”
Another name that is relatively new to the Nebraska show choir power players arena, Express made a beeline to the top of the field this year. Following the departure of head director Aaron Zart to Maryland Heights, Mo., it was Lisbeth Wissink heading up the choir. Express tromped over a rescheduled Lincoln Links and mixed it up with the best at UNL in January. February saw signature wins over Mitchell (Lincoln Southwest) and Ankeny Centennial and Lincoln Southwest (Norris). March was East’s crowning achievement, as Express took vocals and choreo in a stacked Lewis Central event over Westside, Millard West and Papio South. All questions about this group’s future that existed at the start of the season should be answered now.
3. Lincoln Southwest “Resonance”
Following up a pretty iconic Wizard of Oz set was no easy task, but Rez 2024 did the job well. Aubrey Falter starred in a Chicken Little-themed show that set the world on fire in the month of January. Southwest cleaned house, taking decisive wins at Gretna, UNL and Lincoln East. The UNL win was especially sweet, triumphing over Wheaton Warrenville South. February’s lone competition brought a third-place finish at Norris, and March’s lone outing at Wheaton Warrenville South brought a sixth – good for finals at most competitions, but not there. Falter did pick up four Best Soloist awards, and Rez established itself as a group that is at the junction of fun and impressive.
4. Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”
It was a sweet season to be the bridesmaid in Nebraska show choir, and ATSC was that this year. Their fruit hats (oh, maybe the singing and dancing too) propelled them to a trio of runner-up finishes, coming at the hands of Gretna, Lincoln East, and Clinton. In typical ATSC fashion, they also had a classic show choir beatdown - vocals, choreo and band plus another Westside group in finals at Pella – and were good ambassadors for the state of Nebraska (second at Heart of America Orlando). Oh, and director Doran Johnson is wrapping up his time as Nebraska’s Outstanding Music Educator of the Year.
5. Millard West “West in the Groove”
A comprehensive list of the groups that WIG lost to in 2024 is as follows: Lincoln East, Lincoln Southwest, Westside. Not bad! Millard West reeled off three wins in three different states in 2024, taking the cake at Troy Buchanan in Missouri, Omaha South, and Mitchell in South Dakota. All three wins were sweeps as well, with two Best Ballad awards for good measure. It was Zach Bjornsen’s tenth season at the helm of WIG (not counting 2021), and the group remains as strong as ever.
6. Millard North “Infinity”
In the middle of the Millard schools this year was Millard North. Infinity ran arguably one of the harder competition lineups in the state of Nebraska, rolling through Gretna, Millard West, Elkhorn South and Grand Island. The accolades? Two runner-ups, two thirds, two Best Bands, a Best Opener, a Best Closer, and a Best Performer award for Justin Thengvall and his portrayal of Napoleon Dynamite. In February, Infinity took its now-annual trip up to Waconia in Minnesota, in which it took the win for the second time in three years.
7. Pius X “Spectrum”
Pius was arguably the big breakout group of Nebraska show choir in 2024. Similar to Gretna, the light peeked through in 2023, with a win at Wahoo and a split win at Lincoln Northeast. 2024 brought a trio of wins – Lincoln Northeast again plus Elkhorn and Millard North – and more prominence within the show choir community. Pius rubbed shoulders with Omaha South, Norris, Elkhorn North, Elkhorn South and others on its way to a successful season. Edgar Estrada, in two years, has done a lot for Pius – and Spectrum may be capable of even more.
8. Omaha South “The Ambassadors”
First things first – congrats to The Ambassadors for taking home their first-ever win this year! South took home Best Choreography and the win at Omaha North on March 2, the maiden triumph for the Tyler Gruttemeyer-led outfit. The Ambassadors had a relatively late season, only competing twice in the first handful of weeks in the season. Their season began in earnest at Hastings, Minn., on February 24. After a fourth there and the win at North, South capped off the season with a pair of impressive seconds, taking second to Pius at Millard North and second to Millard West at Mitchell.
9. Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”
By all accounts, this ranking is much less of an indictment on Titanium than it is a commendation of the general state of Nebraska show choir. It’s not like Papio South is no longer a program that needs to be taken seriously, it’s just that the competition at the top of the pile is just that much more intense. The majority of the season was spent in fourth place, with peeks through after a third at Elkhorn South and a second at Westside. It was Titanium’s first winless competitive season since 2017. Ava Winkler took home a trio of soloist awards, Laine Cunningham grabbed another two and Tyson Johnson also nabbed one, completing a rare trio of soloists from the same choir to win individual awards.
10. Elkhorn South “Blackout”
Blackout spent another year in the top echelons of Nebraska show choir, always dangerous enough to make their competitors seriously worry about them. Elkhorn South ran a full competition slate from January 15 to March 9, hitting iconic contests like Gretna, Papio South, Grand Island and Millard North. Additionally, the group traveled just out of state to Sioux City East, taking a commanding sweep over Bishop Heelan and Grand Island Northwest.
11. Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit”
With former director Tyler Buglewicz off teaching overseas, former O’Gorman director Lindsey Ussery took over the head of Free Spirit. Straight out of the gate, the group came out swinging. At a wild Omaha Burke competition, Papio put three groups in finals and Free Spirit came on top with a lone Best Performer caption and nothing else. A trio of fourth-place finishes, including one in Bloomington, Minn., and a fifth at Norris rounded out the season for Papio.
12. Norris “Gold”
Following a season-opening trip to Johnston, Iowa, Norris went on The Lincoln Tour. Gold was fourth at Lincoln East, third at Lincoln Southwest, won the inaugural Lincoln Northwest competition, and was second at Lincoln Northeast. The triumph at Northwest brought Norris back into the win column after a winless 2023. Garrett Dorn closed the season strong, taking home Best Soloist awards at the final three competitions Gold attended. Justin Eisenbeis also hopped over from La Vista Middle School to be assistant director for 2024. He replaced Hunter Boe, who went just north to head Lincoln Standing Bear’s new choral department.
13. Elkhorn North “adrENaline”
By far the youngest choir on this list, Elkhorn North is making a decent living in its show choir infancy. It probably helps that Casey Allen has been there since the beginning in 2021. Once again, Adrenaline qualified for finals everywhere they went, notching a pair of third-place finishes. In a crowded suburban Omaha scene, where it is very hard to stand out, Elkhorn North will get there with time – the voting panel even ranked them above the original Elkhorn.
14. Grand Island “Ultimate Image”
Central Nebraska’s most storied show choir is once again the top regional representative on this list in 2024, heading a trio of groups in the mid-teens. Nebraska’s largest high school held serve over the central regions, claiming sweeps at Hastings and Grand Island Northwest and hosting a cadre of talented groups at the Islander Invite. Three Omaha trips resulted in a second at Omaha North and fifths at Gretna and Westside; a trip to Urbandale, Iowa yielded fifth as well.
15. Hastings “Uncaged”
It was quite the year for Uncaged. For the first time in the group’s history, it went out of the Cornhusker State. Competing in Glenwood, Iowa, Hastings beat Des Moines Christian, Millard South and others to take the grand championship. It was Uncaged’s first since the 2019 Northeast Community College Jazz Festival. Director Christian Yost also started an inclusive show choir, Unlimited, the first of its kind in Nebraska. Uncaged also notched three other podium placements and had a low of fourth on the year.
16. Grand Island Northwest “14 Karat Gold”
14KG ran an unorthodox competition schedule for a central group, competing in Lincoln twice, Omaha once, and Iowa twice. GINW finished second three times – Lincoln Links, Lincoln Northwest and Westwood. The choir also claimed Best Choreography at Westwood and took home the Best Ballad at Millard West, against several of Nebraska’s big groups. 2024 also marked Jeff Vyhlidal’s fifth at the helm of the program, and that continuity should come in handy for years to come.
17. Lincoln Northeast “Voices ‘N Harmony”
Lincoln Northeast is enjoying a renaissance of sorts, and while a 17th-place ranking doesn’t necessarily suggest that, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. VNH finds itself in the chasm performance-wise between the small programs and the big programs, which is a better spot than the program has arguably ever been in. On the small program side, a commanding win at Northwest Missouri State, the second in program history, was paired with a second at Wahoo. On the big program side, there were a pair of sixths at Lincoln Southwest and Millard North and a tough finals miss at Millard West. Look for Northeast to keep making strides towards those bigger competitions.
18. Lincoln High “Chain Reaction”
If we’re in the business of counting renaissance groups, then put Lincoln High right in the pile as well. The choir (then named Momentum) was a complete afterthought at most competitions as late as two years ago, with a steady revolving door of directors. Colten McAuley came down from a previous gig at Omaha North and has provided some much-needed stability, adding a womens choir as well. Chain Reaction, an homage to the school mascot Links, made finals everywhere they went this year, a huge accomplishment. While only one was in the Lincoln metro (fourth at Northeast), the accolades are very well deserved.
19. Millard South “South on Stage”
Faced with the hand they were dealt, SOS played its cards well. Attending some of the competitions with a lot of firepower (UNL, Elkhorn South, and Lewis Central among them), Millard South was simply outpowered a few times. Despite that, South made finals everywhere they went and made the most of the more amenable opportunities on the schedule, placing third at Glenwood, Iowa. Nathan Fitch also picked up a Best Soloist award there, which was South’s only caption of the season.
20. Elkhorn “Excel”
It’s odd to say, but Elkhorn is once again a building program. Its enrollment decimated by the opening of North a few years ago, the OG Elkhorn High was still considered a Class A school by the NSAA this year with an enrollment of 544. Elkhorn does have the veteran leadership of Abby Thompson, who’s been at the school for over a dozen years. Excel notched a trio of finals appearances this year, and will look to sustain that success with more students in the future.
21. Kearney “KHS Pops”
KHS is one of the sneakiest groups on this list. Large high school from a mid-size city in central Nebraska and a stud director, but the group never comes to eastern Nebraska. Competing at Hastings and Grand Island Northwest this year, Pops made the best of its opportunities. They were fourth at Hastings, right behind Lincoln High, and third at Grand Island Northwest, behind Hastings and above Lincoln High. Director Clayton Moyer was on the panel at Grand Island this year, preventing Kearney from competing, but a matchup there against several other choirs ranked above them on the list would probably be the best scenario for 2025.
22. Bellevue West “West Connection”
The quietest four-finals season this year probably belonged to Bellevue West. The group did not compete at all in the Omaha metro this season, leaving a dearth of local competition. However, West chose its appearances strategically, making finals twice in Iowa (fourth at Spirit Lake and third at Westwood) and adding some accolades in Nebraska (fifth at Grand Island Northwest). 2024 was Janelle Reetz’s fifteenth (!) season at the helm, a big accomplishment in its own right.
23. Norfolk “Velocity”
In the land of Nebraska show choir, Norfolk is an odd duck. Velocity is from the northeastern part of the state, an area with few show choirs, and director Dustin Wood is also the choreographer and arranger for the program. As a result, the shows are very unique. 2024 was sort of a typical season for the group – go south to compete against the big guns, then run the jazz festival scene closer to home at the end. While no finals were to be had in Lincoln or Omaha, Velocity did win the hometown Northeast Community College Jazz Festival show choir division in late March.
24. Bellevue East “Take II”
Closely following its western counterpart is Bellevue East. Regrettably, it was a year of contraction for East, as its womens group Sensations ceased to exist. Take II had a rough go of it as well on the stage. Competing at Millard West, Elkhorn, Omaha South, Grand Island, and Omaha North, East did not make any finals appearances or take home any caption awards.
25. Ralston “RUSH”
Rounding out the top 25 is Ralston. Tucked directly south of Omaha near a couple of Runza locations, the roughly 750-student high school still turns out two show choirs every year. RUSH was under the new direction of Michael O’Brien in 2024. Of its six competitions, Ralston notched one finals appearance, a sixth at Omaha South. King Barnett also made a name late in the season, earning Best Soloist captions at Lincoln Northeast and Millard North.
Receiving Votes: Burke “Synergy”, Omaha North “Explosion”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to remove inaccurate information regarding Elkhorn South "Blackout."