By Simon Zimmerman, Ohio contributor
It’s back! This weekend, Ohio will kick off their show choir seasons with a competition at Beavercreek, featuring contenders from across the region looking to start their season off with good placements.
The Lineup
Large Mixed - Teays Valley “Prominent Rendition,” Lebanon “Singers,” Grove City “Touch of Class,” Solon “Music in Motion,” Piqua “The Company,” Olentangy “Keynotes,” Noblesville “NHS Singers,” Loveland “By Request”
Small Mixed - Elgin “Energizers,” West Jessamine “Dually Noted,” Benjamin Logan “Standing Ovation,” South Dearborn “Opening Knight”
Womens - Grove City “Class Act,” Olentangy “She-Notes,” Noblesville “New Dimension,” Loveland “Allure”
Beavercreek’s 23rd annual season opening competition will feature groups from Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, several of whom are regulars at this competition.
Though all eyes will be focused on the showdown in Large Mixed, watch out for some good performances in the Womens and Small Mixed divisions. In Womens, Loveland Allure will be looking to win the division for the first time since the pandemic after having been stymied the past few years. Allure is one of the best treble groups in Ohio, having won the always tough single-gender division at Fairfield last year in what was widely considered a down year for them, due to their failures to overcome tough competition against womens groups from Hurricane and ETC. Winning the division here won’t be easy, though; they’ll have to face off against Grove City’s womens group, Class Act, who made overall finals at all of their competitions in 2024, beating groups like South Dearborn and Twinsburg in the process. Also in contention will be Noblesville’s womens group New Dimension, who had struggled to stand out last year in Indiana’s tough single-gender scene - watch out for them to try to make a comeback here. The final group in the womens division will be the Olentangy She-Notes, who have traditionally been a good womens group, despite having some trouble last year when they placed behind Marion Harding’s mens group and didn’t make single-gender finals at Marysville.
The Small Mixed division will feature four groups from three states. Probably the group with the most to prove in the division is Indiana standout South Dearborn, who despite a rocky offseason involving a director change managed to snag second place at Ada’s November competition. Opening Knight will be looking to prove that their placement there wasn’t a fluke, and that they will continue their impressive run (which includes winning Small Mixed at Beavercreek for the past three years) despite the major shakeups. The other out-of-state group comes from West Jessamine, the only active program in Kentucky. West Jessamine, despite their small size, has done extraordinarily well in their past competitions. The last time they came to Beavercreek (in 2023), they beat groups twice their size, and since then they’ve won the Small Mixed division at South Dearborn’s competition twice and beaten Teays Valley (who will be competing in the Large Mixed division at Beavercreek). One of the groups West Jessamine beat their last time at Beavercreek was Benjamin Logan Standing Ovation, a group currently in their third year of competition. Though they didn’t make finals at Ada in November, they have done well at Beavercreek in the past (placing third in 2024’s Small Mixed), and they will look to do well again this year. Finally, the Elgin Energizers have had several rough years since the last time they made finals (in 2017) or won their division (in 2019), but they have seen a general improvement in placements over the past few years. This may be the year they finally break out of their slump, so keep an eye on them.
Last, but certainly not least, we have the showdown in Large Mixed. There are eight groups here, and in summary:
Loveland By Request won Beavercreek in 2022 and 2024, taking Best Choreography both times. After their win last year, they placed second five straight times, a streak they will look to break here.
Piqua The Company won Beavercreek in 2023 and won Best Vocals in 2022 and 2023. Last year, they didn’t have quite the same successes as both of those years, but they were on the podium at all their competitions and finished the season with a win at Solon.
Noblesville NHS Singers first went to Beavercreek last year, when they placed third and won Best Vocals. Though they didn’t do as well as they probably hoped in the tough Indianapolis scene, they did pick up wins in 2024 over groups like Plainfield and ended the season with a finals placement at Show Choir Nationals.
Solon Music in Motion was Ohio’s hottest group last season, as they picked up three wins, beating groups like Findlay, Grove City, and Piqua. They’re bringing back the same creative team from last year, though this is an earlier start to their season; they’ll be looking to prove that last year wasn’t a one-off and that they deserve consideration at the top of Ohio.
Grove City Touch of Class has been a rising star in Ohio for the past couple of years. Last year, the group picked up two grand championships, and this school year they’ve kept the momentum going with a win at Ada in November. If they can keep the momentum going this season, they’ll show that they do belong in the upper echelon of Ohio show choir.
The Olentangy Keynotes started strong in 2024, taking Best Vocals from Marysville, before trailing off and falling to groups like Marion Harding and Beavercreek. They’ll be looking to have a similar strong start at Beavercreek this season, and will hope to keep it going throughout the season.
Teays Valley Prominent Rendition had a rebuilding season in 2024 after the departure of a longtime director, not making finals at any of their competitions. This season, they’ve had a choreographer change, which paid off at Ada as they made finals for the first time since 2023. Look for them to continue to grow at this competition.
Lebanon Singers have been something of a wildcard in Ohio for years, though they are coming into Beavercreek on a streak of three solid final placements. It will be tough to continue that streak at Beavercreek given the caliber of competition they are facing.
Finals at Beavercreek are likely to be composed entirely of Large Mixed groups, though it’s not out of the question that the Small Mixed or Womens winner could make finals. Beyond that, there’s no telling how the competition may go - this is one of the deepest Beavercreek lineups in years, and it should be an exciting competition.