A titantic showdown in Indiana, a large mixed clash in New England, a Midwest convergence in Missouri, and a heavyweight face-off in Iowa are this week’s cream of the crop!
Pike MusicFest
The Lineup (all choirs from Indiana)
Mixed: Ben Davis “Premiers”, Carmel “Ambassadors”, Center Grove “Sound System”, Franklin Central “F.C. Singers”, Lawrence Central “Central Sound”, Mooresville “Spotlighters”, North Central “Counterpoints”
Womens: Ben Davis “Sounds”, Carmel “Accents”, Center Grove “Debtones”, Franklin Central “High Voltage”, Lawrence Central “Sweets”, Lawrence North “Bella Bravada”, Mooresville “Finesse”, North Central “Descants”
Open: Ben Davis “Preview”, Greenfield-Central “Legacy”, Lawrence North “Legacy”, Mooresville “Nexus”
Carmel. Center Grove. Franklin Central. North Central. Who will win? Only time will tell. Rarely do this many of the Indianapolis titans come to the same place. All four groups could make a case for being the best group in the state, and (presumably) only one will come out on top. While probably not at the level of the front four this year, Lawrence Central is also a program that is making large strides forward and may give Ben Davis a run for its money chasing the fifth and last mixed finals spot. The womens division will be just as much of a throwdown, with the big four aforementioned mixed choirs also competing for finals in the womens division. Carmel Accents probably retain a slight edge in this department, but the other three will not be far behind. The fifth womens finals spot may go to anybody else in the division, but Mooresville probably holds the best chance.
Tantasqua Show Choir Spectacular
The Lineup (all groups from Massachusetts unless noted)
Large Mixed: Andover “From Start to Finish”, Daniel Hand “VIBE” (CT), Lowell “Sound Impressions”, Shepherd Hill “Fantasy”, South Windsor “Choral Spectrum” (CT), Waltham “Music Unlimited” (MA)
Small Mixed: Bishop Hendricken “Paramount” (RI), Leominster “Ignition”, Scranton “First Edition” (PA)
Single-Gender: Andover “Back to Bass-ics”, Andover “Northin’ But Treble”, Shepherd Hill “Illusion”
Middle School: Charlton “Mirage”, Dudley “Prestige”, Tantasqua “Maestros”, Worcester “MetroGnomes”
This will be one of the bigger large mixed fields that New England will see this year. Powerhouses Waltham, Shepherd Hill and Daniel Hand will all square off in a top-heavy division. Andover, Lowell and South Windsor are no slouches either, and perhaps one of those can sneak on to the podium. Somerset Berkley is really the only large mixed power player of the region not entered besides the host school of Tantasqua. Small mixed will be an incredibly interesting division as well. After losing curricular choir director Patrick Hein and almost its show choir program as a whole, Scranton came over to Shepherd Hill last weekend and captured a resounding sweep of the small mixed division. Bishop Hendricken was the third-place choir in that division and Leominster the sixth-place; both will look to improve and potentially unseat Pennsylvania’s most prominent show choir.
Troy Buchanan Show Choir Invitational
The Lineup (all groups from Missouri unless noted)
Mixed: Glenwood “Titan Fever” (IL), Highland “Dissonance” (IL), Marquette “Center Stage”, Mt. Zion “Swingsations” (IL), Nevada “Soundsational Singers”, Prairie “The Ambassadors” (IA), Sullivan “Singers” (IL), Webb City “Singers”, Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir” (NE)
Prep: Mt. Zion “Les Femmes”, Mt. Zion “You Got Male”, Nevada “Treble Effects”, Nevada “Vocal Fusion”, Webb City “Bella Voce”, Webb City “DoMENance”, Westside “Simply Irresistible”
Middle School: Glenwood “Titan Flare” (IL), Sullivan “Singers, Jr.” (IL)
What an interesting four-state lineup we have here! Every single state packs a punch in this competition. Mt. Zion and Westside are two of the most iconic programs west of Indiana, and both have a very good shot at placing at the top of this competition. While Prairie generally doesn’t travel as much as either of the aforementioned groups, they have performed admirably so far this year and could definitely be a challenger near the top of finals as well! Not to be counted out, the home state of Missouri sends the best womens group in the state in Webb City’s Bella Voce as well as WC Singers and Marquette, who are both very solid groups and have finals appearances to their names so far this year. The prep division will be nothing short of a bloodbath, with four schools combining for seven groups, including two mens groups. The Simply Irresistible-Bella Voce-Les Femmes battle will be tight!
Urbandale Show Choir Invitational
The Lineup (all groups from Iowa unless noted)
Mixed: Burke “Synergy” (NE), Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.”, Indianola “Side One”, Johnston “Innovation”, Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (SD), Omaha South “The Ambassadors” (NE), Waukee “Millennium”
Womens: Johnston “Bella Voce”, Omaha South “Amplify” (NE)
Prep: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Protégé”, Indianola “Flip Side”, Johnston “Synergy”, Waukee “Spirit”
9th Grade: Johnston “Sound Advice”, Waukee Timberline “Inferno”
Urby features heavy hitters from the Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Omaha and South Dakoda scenes. It is a very diverse lineup and should be a fun one to watch! CR Kennedy has already beaten Waconia this year, and Johnston’s lone competition was a vocals/choreo triumph at UNL a month ago. Mitchell is making its competition debut for the season; this is the first of four straight weekends for FDC. Omaha South is three-for-three on finals this year and will look to make it four in a row. Indianola has a trio of runner-up finishes and one third-place finish so far this year – could Flip Side be a dark horse contender for a high placing? Waukee is the last likely finalist to be mentioned, although it is hard to see them placing last – they already have a head-to-head win over CR Kennedy this season and have not dropped a band caption since this competition last year.
As always, check back late this weekend for the rundown on how everything went down on stage!
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