It’s the end of the season in South Dakota, Indiana and Ohio – but New England is bracing for a wild midseason showdown!
Andover New England Show Choir Showdown
The Lineup (groups from Massachusetts unless noted)
Large Mixed: Auburn “Varsity Singers” (AL), Cosby “Spotlight” (VA), Daniel Hand “VIBE” (CT), Lowell “Sound Impressions”, Shepherd Hill “Fantasy”, South Windsor “Choral Spectrum” (CT), Tantasqua “Encore!”, Waltham “Music Unlimited”
Small Mixed: Bishop Hendricken “Paramount” (RI), Dartmouth “Dynamix”, Dracut “Dynamics”, Leominster “Ignition”, Natick “West Street Singers”, New England SOTA “Sixth Sense” (NH)
Single-Gender: Auburn “Elan” (AL), Auburn “Men at Work” (AL), Cosby “Rhapsody” (VA), Lowell “Soundsations”, Shepherd Hill “Illusion”, Tantasqua “Applause”, Waltham “Music Express”
21 choirs across six states and three divisions. An eight-choir large mixed division, a six-choir small mixed division, and a seven-choir single-gender division. Massachusetts. Connecticut. Rhode Island. The three regular New England states plus Virginia, Alabama and New Hampshire. Andover is undoubtedly the competition of the season in New England this year. Headlining the large mixed division is an enticing Daniel Hand-Waltham rematch, at least for the local choirs. Music Unlimited was clearly a step ahead of VIBE at Somerset Berkley two weeks ago. How will the two stack up now? They will perform over three hours apart, adding an additional level of intrigue. The wildcards are Cosby and Auburn, who both make the trip up. Both Spotlight and Varsity Singers have two wins to their name this year, and the clash of circuits will make the top four a lottery. It’s absurd at this point to not have mentioned South Windsor or Shepherd Hill, but that’s just what happens in a competition this stacked. Bishop Hendricken is the only group in small mixed to have won a division so far this season, but that division is just as wide open as large mixed. It also includes the return of Dracut to the competition stage for the first time since 2020 and the debut of New England School of the Arts, who will showcase New Hampshire’s first competitive show choir.
Indiana State Large School Finals
The Lineup (all groups from Indiana)
Mixed: Avon “Accents”, Castle “Knight Sensations”, Decatur Central “Goldenaires”, Fishers “Electrum”, Franklin Community “Heritage Singers”, Lawrence Central “Central Sound”, Lawrence North “Legacy”, Pike “Encores”, Plainfield “Belles et Beaux”
Womens: Avon “Attraction”, Castle “Knightingales”, Decatur Central “Expressions”, Fishers “Sound”, Franklin Community “Sensations”, Lawrence Central “Sweets”, Lawrence North “Bella Bravada”, Plainfield “Femmes Fatales”, Westfield “Illumination”
ISSMA’s large finals return their traditional fields of nine choirs in each division. In the mixed, there are several groups within shouting distance of each other that could jumble the top-four announcements for one final late-season shakeup. Plainfield was one spot ahead of Fishers two weekends ago at Avon, but B&B and Electrum have been tight this entire season – Plainfield currently sits seventh in HRSC’s Indiana power rankings and Electrum is eighth. Behind them, Avon sits in the eleventh spot, followed by Lawrence North in 14th and Lawrence Central in 15th. That group of three will also be one to watch, as the Lawrences have gone back and forth this year. In the womens division, Fishers Sound will, unless a lightning bolt strikes the group and delivers calamity, secure the win. They are the only group in the top five of HRSC’s Indiana single-gender poll rankings attending. Femmes Fatales (sixth), Attraction (seventh), Bella Bravada (11th), Sweets (12th), and Sensations (15th) round out the ranked groups who will compete.
Marysville Showcase
The Lineup (groups from Ohio unless noted)
Large Mixed: Beavercreek “Friends”, Carroll “Magic” (IN), North Central “Counterpoints” (IN), Olentangy “Keynotes”, Petal “Soundsations” (MS)
Medium Mixed: Norwell “Knight Moves” (IN), Peoria “Soundwave” (IL), Ross “Legacy”, Winfield “General Admission” (WV)
Small Mixed: Portsmouth “Expressions”, Whitehall-Yearling “Music Unlimited”
Womens: Carroll “Select Sound” (IN), North Central “Descants” (IN), Norwell “Knight Stars” (IN), Olentangy “She-Notes”, Petal “Soundsations” (MS), Winfield “Emerald Elegance” (WV)
Similar to last week’s feature on Fairfield, Marysville is another Ohio competition that has seen marked change from last year. Showcase shifted back a weekend this year and went from a one-division, six-group finals format to a two-division, eight-group finals format. Only one of last year’s finalists – Olentangy – returns. Despite all of that, this lineup is shattering for a season-closing competition. Olentangy and Beavercreek are now the sole large mixed entrants from Ohio, and they will be under heavy fire. North Central has seen a little bit of a resurgence this year, which is Michael Raunick’s final at the helm. Carroll hasn’t been able to crack into the win column, but has placed well at several tough competitions. Petal won at Biloxi last weekend in a split-caption decision over Keller Central. With five mixed finalists, all five are primed to advance to the evening round. Medium mixed features four groups from four different states, the ultimate unpredictable division. Six groups will compete for three finalist spots in the womens division, with North Central, Carroll and Olentangy appearing to have the best shots to make it happen.
Mitchell Show Choir Classic
The Lineup (groups from South Dakota unless noted)
Large Mixed: Aberdeen Central “Eagle Express”, Bishop Heelan “Harmonia Mundi” (IA), Millard West “West in the Groove” (NE), Omaha South “The Ambassadors” (NE), Sioux City East “The Headliners” (IA)
Small Mixed: Groton “Prismatic Sensations”, Hot Springs “Les Chanteurs”, Vermillion “Rhythm in Red”
Womens: Aberdeen Central “Special Request”, Bishop Heelan “Magnifique” (IA), Millard West “Uptown” (NE), Omaha South “Amplify” (NE), Sioux City East “Prestige” (IA)
Mens: Bishop Heelan “moMANtum” (IA), Sioux City East “Entourage” (IA)
Prep: Millard West “Swing Cats”
Mitchell did not compete at all in South Dakota this year, and the competition lineup for the Classic is ironically pretty much a reciprocal of that. Aberdeen Central is the lone large mixed in-state entrant, and Eagle Express already has tallied three wins so far this year. Coming up from the Omaha area are Millard West and Omaha South. WIG is still solidly in the S tier of Nebraska show choir, and The Ambassadors won their first competition ever two weekends ago. Coming up from Sioux City are Bishop Heelan and Sioux City East. Harmonia Mundi just won for the first time this decade last weekend at Westwood, while The Headliners have a trio of second-place finishes this season. Small mixed is exactly the same as the last full Classic in 2022 – and the results should follow a similar manner as then: Vermillion, then Groton, then Hot Springs. In all likelihood, at least one of the womens groups will transfer to finals. Uptown was fourth at this competition two years ago, and already has a third-place finish at Omaha South earlier this season. Finally, the mens division may be the first one ever seen in South Dakota – despite the fact that both competing groups are from Iowa.
Wildcard: Heart of America Orlando
It was close on both platforms, but HOA Orlando won the wildcard poll on X and Instagram to be this week’s fifth featured competition.
The Lineup
Mixed: Clinton “Attaché” (MS), Madison Central “Reveille” (MS), Omaha Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”
Open: Boulder Creek “Broadway Bound” (AZ), Faith Lutheran “Revelation” (NV)
Womens: Boulder Creek “Heart and Soul” (AZ)
Middle: Clinton “Ambassadors” (MS)
Clinton’s national trip this year takes them to HOA Orlando. There, they will take on a smattering of groups across the country. It’s been a down year for Omaha Westside by their sky-high standards, but ATSC should be ready to lock and load one last time after a second-place finish at Lewis Central two weeks ago. It is interesting to see, however, that Westside is not bringing Simply Irresistible and Warrior Express. An additional two groups would have made this competition much more interesting. Madison Central has struggled a bit this year following a director change, but they still have two finals appearances to their name this year. Boulder Creek’s one competition this year lands here, where they are the only program to enter multiple groups. Faith Lutheran rounds out the lineup. This debutant is the first Nevada group to compete since Arbor View at FAME Los Angeles in 2008. Clinton is hanging out in the middle school division alone – with five finalists, they might be a sleeper pick for the evening round if middle school groups are eligible.
With lots of circuits putting a bow on the season this weekend, find your way back right here after it’s all over for a look back on how it ended.
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