The Midwest grabs a sweep of Comps of the Week this week with four loaded lineups!
Fairfield Crystal Classic
The Lineup (all choirs from Ohio unless noted)
Large Mixed: ETC “The All Americans”, Hurricane “Red Hot” (WV), Loveland “By Request”, Noblesville “NHS Singers” (IN), Olentangy “Keynotes”, Ross “Legacy”
Middle Mixed: Hamilton “Prestige”, Lebanon “Singers”, Middletown “Purple Pizzazz”, Robert C. Byrd “Vocal Intensity” (WV), Whiteland “Rhythm Masters” (IN)
Small Mixed: Bishop Dwenger “Summit Sound” (IN), Bradley Central “Vocal Motion” (TN), Colerain “Show Cards”, Matoaca “High Impact” (VA), Montgomery Central “Sound Collective” (TN), Norwell “Knight Moves” (IN), Norwood “The Silhouettes”, Poca “Visual Volume” (WV), Riverside “Melodic Fusion” (WV), Sissonville “Touch of Class” (WV), South Dearborn “Opening Knight” (IN), Whitehall-Yearling “Music Unlimited”
Large Womens: ETC “Rouge”, Loveland “Allure”, Noblesville “New Dimension” (IN), Olentangy “She-Notes”, Whiteland “Expressions”
Small Womens: Hamilton “Vocal Elegance”, Matoaca “Up Front” (VA), Mount Notre Dame “Jubilation”, Norwell “Knight Stars” (IN)
Middle School: Edgewood “Overtures”, Hamilton “Cutting Edge”, Loveland “Revolution”, Perrysburg “Golden Jackets”, Ross “Next Generation”, South Dearborn “Showcase” (IN), Woodside/Summit “Class Act” (IN)
Both the large mixed and small mixed divisions are stacked, but in different ways. The large mixed division features only six choirs, but five of them (all but Olentangy) have won competitions so far this year. Hurricane, Loveland and Ross will probably be the top three in finals, but who grabs the captions and in what order they shake out will be anyone’s guess. Small mixed features an astounding twelve choirs from five different states. This division is anyone’s to take, with Norwell, Matoaca and South Dearborn coming in with the best chances of placing well. Large womens is also a fight to the death, with Olentangy, Noblesville, Loveland and ETC all bringing their top game as the season winds down.
Herscher Swing and Sing
The Lineup (all choirs from Illinois unless noted)
Open: Beavercreek “Friends” (OH), Chesterton “Sandpipers” (IN), Danville “Delegation”, Decatur “Elite Energy”, Glenwood “Titan Fever”, Peoria “Soundwave”
Festival: Kankakee “Take Note”, Oak Park and River Forest “Noteworthy”, Springfield “IN Session”, Sullivan “Singers”
Single-Gender: Chesterton “Drifters” (IN), Danville “Contemporaires”, Danville “Executives”, Springfield “Scarlet Harmony”
Middle School: Decatur “Collective Sound”, North Ridge “Radiant Reds”, North Ridge “Redcoats”, Peoria “Vocal Velocity”, Sullivan “Singers, Jr.”
In what is perhaps the last great Illinois showdown of the year, the home-state powers face a tough test from a couple of out-of-state contenders. Glenwood has been held without a grand championship so far this year. To do so here, they will have to beat Chesterton, who swept them at Milton earlier this season. Peoria also looks to carry the banner for Illinois, and they would look for a good send-off before going to Show Choir Nationals the fourth weekend of March. While not at the level that they used to be, Decatur remains a fringe finals-level choir and will look for their fourth finals berth of 2023. As for the out-of-state competitors, Chesterton comes in as the odds-on favorite, having never finished below second this year in what is arguably their best season since 2015. Beavercreek also has a win to their name so far this year and may contend for a podium.
Indiana State Large School Finals
The Lineup (all choirs from Indiana)
Mixed: Avon “Accents”, Brownsburg “Spotlight Singers & Company”, Castle “Knight Sensations”, Fishers “Electrum”, Franklin Central “F.C. Singers”, Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition”, Lawrence Central “Central Sound”, North Central “Counterpoints”, Plainfield “Belles et Beaux”
Womens: Avon “Attraction”, Brownsburg “Starlight Voices”, Castle “Knightingales”, Decatur Central “Expressions”, Fishers “Sound”, Franklin Central “High Voltage”, Lawrence Central “Sweets”, North Central “Descants”, Plainfield “Femmes Fatales”
Putting aside the ‘should state finals exist’ and ‘is the ISSMA good’ debates, state finals look plenty stacked this year. Franklin Central is the class of the field this year, but anything after that is anyone’s guess. Brownsburg, Fishers, North Central and Plainfield all should figure into the discussion for the other two places on the podium. Avon comes in as a wild card, with a couple of wins at less competitive competitions. With no finals round at this competition, whoever lays it out on stage the best the first time around will take it all. The womens division is even less of a sure thing, with the only thing that anybody seems to partially agree on is that Fishers should come out near the top of the pile. Plainfield, Brownsburg, Franklin Central and Avon also have the potential to take the win in that division.
Mitchell Show Choir Classic
The Lineup (all choirs from South Dakota unless noted)
Large Mixed: Bishop Heelan “Harmonia Mundi” (IA), Grand Island Northwest “14 Karat Gold” (NE), Sioux Center “Satisfaction” (IA), Sioux City East “The Headliners” (IA), Sioux Falls Washington “Classic Connection”, Skutt Catholic “Vivace” (NE), Troy Buchanan “Express” (MO)
Small Mixed: Chamberlain “River City Groove”, Groton “Prismatic Sensations”, Vermillion “Rhythm in Red”
Single-Gender: Bishop Heelan “Magnifique” (IA), Sioux City East “Entourage” (IA), Sioux City East “Prestige” (IA), Sioux Falls Washington “Stage Lights”, Skutt Catholic “Allegro” (NE)
Prep: Grand Island Northwest “Bella Voce” (NE), Troy Buchanan “Soudwave” (MO), Westside “Warrior Express” (NE), Westside Middle “Westside Connection” (NE)
Middle School: Bishop Heelan “Genesis” (IA)
True to Mitchell being a regional power in the show choir world, its competition also does well in attracting out-of-state talent. Sioux Falls Washington is the lone in-state contender for finals, and they have a host of competition. Troy Buchanan comes in on the back of a third-place finish in an incredibly stacked Choral Classic. Grand Island Northwest split captions and the grand championship with Pius X two weeks ago at Lincoln Northeast, their third competition that they’ve won at least a share of the title this season. Sioux City East has ripped off four straight finals appearances after missing finals to start the season, and Bishop Heelan hasn’t finished lower than fourth so far this season. Other finals contenders include Skutt Catholic and Troy Buchanan’s prep group.
Check back at the end of the weekend to see how everything shakes out!
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