Comps of the Week Recap: 2/17/24

From theaters to arenas and beyond, the show choir world is buzzing after a packed weekend!

Chesterton Trojan Classic Final Results

GC: Carmel “Ambassadors” (BV)

1RU: Brandon “Brio” (BC)

2RU: Marysville “Swingers Unlimited”

3RU: Wheaton North “Flight” (BB)

4RU: Northrop “Charisma”

Indiana is Indiana and it will remain as so until further notice. In a finals field that featured groups from four different states, Hoosier choirs bookended the field to put everybody else on notice that it is their home turf and they will defend it. On top, Carmel came out on top of Brandon, who gave Ambassadors everything they could handle. Brio took a well-deserved Best Choreography caption, and while they may not have the results this year of past years, a second place to Carmel is about as good of a second place as you’ll get in show choir these days. Marysville was a somewhat quiet third, tucked in the middle of several elite groups with no captions. Wheaton North, while on the bottom end of all the elite groups at the competition, did take home the band caption, which was a nice solace to them. Northrop cleared the rest of the field to take the fifth and final spot in the evening round. Carmel Accents came out of the competition with the womens finals win, taking a sweep over Brandon Bellas.

Center Grove Best of the Midwest Results

1st: Franklin Central “F.C. Singers” (BV/BC)

2nd: North Central “Counterpoints”

3rd: Mt. Zion “Swingsations”

Womens Results

1st: Fishers “Sound” (BV/BC)

2nd: Franklin Central “High Voltage”

3rd: Mt. Zion “Les Femmes”

While this was a standalone preview, BOM is wrapped up in the Comps of the Week Recap this week. In a no-finals competition, Franklin Central held serve, indicating that the Indianapolis Big Three will remain the Big Three for some time to come, despite the best efforts of North Central and whoever else may be trying to get in. Mt. Zion, coming over from central Illinois, bagged a pair of third-place finishes. It’s not the top of the line, sure, but in divisions with FC, NC, Fishers and Carroll, it’s very respectable. In the womens division, Fishers Sound continues to be one of the true outliers where the womens group is markedly better than the mixed group from that school. Whatever magic Sound had in the past is clearly present again this year as well. Carroll was the only large school not to place a group in either division, but they should be applauded for simply making it after their trailer flipped off the road on the journey there. Shoutout to Franklin Central and Center Grove for helping Carroll out with props and instruments!

Davenport Central Great River Show Choir Invitational Final Results

GC: Johnston “Innovation” (BV)

1RU: Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (BC)

2RU: Johnston “Synergy”

3RU: Mundelein “Sound” (BB)

4RU: Davenport North “Northside Establishment”

5RU: Liberty “Storm”

In the ultimate rebound competition, Johnston rebounded the most. One weekend after getting swept by Linn-Mar, Innovation came to the eastern border of Iowa and took home the win in the Adler Theater. Mitchell was another group that had been swept in their last competition, and FDC took home best choreography here. They will now attempt to win two competitions on the same day, competing at both Bishop Heelan and Vermillion this upcoming Saturday. Johnston Synergy, who many entirely discounted as a finals contender, stormed to a podium finish. It’s their highest finish since… Great River in 2022. Mundelein continues a vagabond-like season with fourth and Best Band, another solid pickup for them against a slate of groups that they are geographically removed from. Davenport North and Liberty round out the finals field, both notching solid finals appearances ahead of several challengers who missed out, including Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Lewis Central.

Tupelo King City Classic Final Results

GC: Grenada “Visions” (BV/BC/Show Design)

1RU: Auburn “Varsity Singers”

2RU: Jackson Academy “Encore”

3RU: Madison Central “Reveille”

4RU: Oak Grove “Center Stage”

Quack. Quack. Quack. That’s the sound of Grenada waddling straight up to the top spot of the inaugural King City Classic. Held at the Cadence Bank Arena, across town from Tupelo High, the competition was a massive hit by all accounts. A massive eight-judge panel decided the finals, and Visions received 6.5 of a possible eight first-place votes. Auburn was not in the top three in prelims, but had a mighty rebound to take second place. Jackson Academy has perhaps come down to earth a little bit after beating Brandon at the beginning of the season, but Encore still banked a very solid podium finish. Reveille and Center Stage are both programs with new directors this year that have embraced new identities. Both shows have come a long way, as those two groups left Jackson Prep and both Auburn single-gender groups on the outside of finals.

Omaha South Classic Final Results

GC: Millard West “West in the Groove” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Pius X “Spectrum”

2RU: Millard West “Uptown”

3RU: Elkhorn “Excel”

4RU: Fort Worth Southwest “Southwest Effect”

5RU: Ralston “RUSH”

WIG finds its way into the W column for the second straight competition, nabbing a sweep in considerably easier conditions than Troy Buchanan at the start of the month. Pius continues its upward ascent with a second-place showing, and if they weren’t there, it likely would have been a Millard West one-two at the top. Elkhorn is a group that’s endured some struggles this year, missing finals at two of its first three competitions after going five-for-five this past season. The fourth-place finish here is hopefully indicative that the show has turned a corner and will be in contention for more placements later in the season. In its yearly trip outside of Texas, Fort Worth Southwest finished fifth, improving one spot from last year. Ralston beat Bellevue East and Omaha North for the last finals spot. RUSH’s finals appearance marks the first time they’ve advanced to the evening round under Michael O’Brien, who took over at the beginning of this season.

There’s always another week of competitions to cover, so keep your eyes peeled for more national and regional coverage from homeroomshowchoir.com!