Indiana Show Choir Rankings (3/21/25)

By Will Kaiser and Nathan Ensley, Indiana contributors

Regional experts were surveyed on 30 of Indiana's best show choirs. These are the results.

Avon Accents perform in exhibition at the Avon Vocal Invitational | PHOTO: Nathan Ensley / Nensley Photography

Large Mixed

1. Center Grove “Sound System” (5 first-place votes, no change)

2. Carmel “Ambassadors” (NC)

3. Franklin Central “F.C. Singers” (NC)

4. Zionsville “Royalaires” (NC)

5. North Central “Counterpoints” (NC)

6. Avon “Accents” (+1)

7. Fishers “Electrum” (-1)

8. Plainfield “Belles et Beaux” (+1)

9. Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition” (-1)

10. Brownsburg “Spotlight Singers & Company” (NC)

Receiving Votes: Ben Davis “Premiers”, Carroll “Magic”

News and Notes

• Major competitions leave question marks: This weekend, several top Indy groups competed at major competitions throughout the circuit and beyond, yielding unexpected results one week before the season’s conclusion. At Fairfield, Zionsville took Best Vocals over Center Grove, and it looked as if CG would be handed their first defeat since 2023. Still, somewhat improbably, CG won without a major caption for the first time since 2005 to retain their status as the top Indy group.  At Brownsburg, placements were as expected, but for the fourth time this season, FC took Best Choreography. However, FC could not overcome the sheer vocal power of Carmel in finals, where they displayed their true vocal prowess and won the overall competition.

• LC sees surprising results: Lawrence Central saw some of the most volatile results of the weekend, as several groups performed far differently than expected. The first shock of the day came during prelim awards when now seventh-ranked Fishers Electrum was noticeably absent from the evening competition. When finals came, the results continued to surprise many, as Ben Davis defeated Plainfield to get second place.

• Ben Davis receives votes: For the first time this season, Ben Davis receives votes following their second place at a stacked Lawrence Central competition. Premiers has won two of their competitions this year, their most since 2013. The pride of the west side will look for a third victory at Noblesville this Saturday, where they will face tenth-ranked Brownwsburg and Carroll.

Westfield Illumination performs their opener at Lawrence Central | PHOTO: Nathan Ensley

Large Womens

1. Center Grove “Debtones” (4 first-place votes, no change)

2. Carmel “Accents” (+1)

3. Fishers “Sound” (-1)

4. Franklin Central “High Voltage” (NC)

5. Zionsville “Choralaires” (NC)

6. Avon “Attraction” (NC)

7. Plainfield “Femmes Fatales” (+2)

8. Brownsburg “Starlight Voices” (-1)

9. North Central “Descants” (-1)

10. Westfield “Illumination” (NC)

Receiving Votes: Lawrence North “Bella Bravada”, Carroll “Select Sound”

News and Notes

• Plainfield win at LC shuffles rankings: Femmes Fatales pulled off an unprecedented upset over Fishers at LC, jumping up 14 points in finals, with a particularly strong vocal improvement to take the grand championship. The win marks the second on the season for Plainfield and gives them solid momentum entering ISSMA state finals, where they will get a rematch against sixth-ranked Avon, who they have lost to twice this season.

• Accents advance ahead of Nationals: The Carmel Accents move into second in the rankings, with their victory at Brownsburg over fourth-ranked Franklin Central. Accents have now won three of their four competitions, with three vocal and two visual captions. At Show Choir Nationals, they lost to Los Alamitos Soundtrax but defeated Zionsville.

Pendleton Heights Pendletones hit their final pose at the Avon Vocal Invitational | PHOTO: Nathan Ensley

Small Mixed

1. Roncalli “Royal Rhapsody” (4 first-place votes, no change)

2. Huntington North “Varsity Singers” (NC)

3. Pendleton Heights “Pendletones” (NC)

4. New Castle “Red Hot Blues” (NC)

5. Northridge “Northern Lights” (NC)

Receiving Votes: Mooresville “Spotlighters”, Jay County “Patriot Edition”

News and Notes

• Top Three Set to face off at State: The top two small mixed groups, Roncalli and Huntington North, will face off for the first time in two years at ISSMA state finals this weekend. Huntington North comes in as the defending state champions, where they placed above third-ranked Pendleton; however, top-ranked Roncalli, who has been undefeated the past two seasons, was not in attendance last year.

• Top-Five Matchup at Noblesville: Fourth-ranked New Castle and fifth-ranked Northridge will close out their seasons with a duel at Noblesville. 

Small Womens

1. Pendleton Heights “Emerald Suites” (4 first-place votes, no change)

2. Cathedral “Irish Adrenaline” (NC)

3. Huntington North “Viking Volume” (+1)

4. Jay County “Just Treble” (-1)

5. Northridge “Starlights” (NC)

Receiving Votes: New Castle “Dynamiques”

News and Notes

• Pendleton Gets Gold in New England: Emerald Suites made the long trip to New England this past weekend, where they continued their undefeated season in style. Pendleton has not dropped a single major caption all season and was the only womens group awarded a gold rating at the event, a feat only five mixed groups achieved.

• Viking Volume Vaults Forward: Huntington North moved into third this week following their victory at Columbia City, where they defeated Jay County, who had beaten them earlier in the season. In the victory, Huntington North took both major captions and has strong momentum entering state finals where they will take on top-ranked Pendleton.