The Carmel Ambassadors will return to defend their title. PHOTO: Nathan Ensley / @nensley.photography
The lineup for the 2025 Chesterton Trojan Classic is now live.
Large Mixed | Large Single-Gender | Small Mixed | Small Single-Gender |
Brandon “Brio” | Brandon “Bellas” | Alan B. Shepard “Nova” | Columbus East “Serenade” |
Carmel “Ambassadors” | Carmel “Accents” | Bloomington “Amplitude” | Danville “Contemporaires” |
Carroll “Magic” | Carroll “Select Sound” | Bishop Luers “Minstrels” | Danville “Executives” |
Linn-Mar “10th Street Edition” | Linn-Mar “Hi-Style” | Columbus East “Center Stage” | Mother MacAuley “Mac Melody” |
Millard North “Infinity” | Millard North “Illumination” | Danville “Delegation” | Norwell “Knight Stars” |
Mt. Zion “Swingsations” | Mt. Zion “Les Femmes” | Linn-Mar “In Step” | Pike “Mystiques” |
Northrop “Charisma” | Mt. Zion “You’ve Got Male” | Millard North “Intensity” | |
Wheaton North “Flight” | Northrop “Allure” | Norwell “Knight Moves” | |
Westfield “Illumination” | Pike “Encores” | ||
Twin Lakes “Sound Wave” |
Groups from across the country will flock to northwest Indiana. Among the states represented are Illinois (several groups), Iowa (Linn-Mar), Nebraska (Millard North), and Mississippi (Brandon).
What was your initial reaction when you saw who was going?
William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief: You see people start piecing schedules for different groups together, and you have an inkling that Chesterton is probably going to be a pretty cool event in 2025. Then the lineup drops, and you realize that this will be a marquee event of the entire season. Maybe my jaw didn’t hit the floor, but it definitely widened a fair bit.
Ava Lackey, graphics: I was expecting Chesterton to have another stacked lineup, but when the confirmed list of groups came out, I was pleasantly surprised at just how stacked it turned out to be.
Chris Mendoza, Western contributor: I immediately thought back to 2024’s Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic lineup and compared it with this one. Overall, it looks to be very similar in competitiveness, with a few less groups at the bottom. A perfect competition where there’s plenty of groups to keep it stacked but not too many to make it end at 3 a.m.
Simon Zimmerman, Ohio contributor: From the start, I was aware that Carmel would be going, as they have gone to this event (and won!) every year since the pandemic. I was also aware that Chesterton tends to attract some top groups, with Zionsville, Mt. Zion, Wheaton North, Fairfield, Marysville, and Brandon all having attended since the pandemic. However, once I found out that Linn-Mar would be coming and Brandon would be returning, I became very excited and realized that this is going to be one of the best events of the year.
What is one specific storyline that seems very intriguing right now?
William: I’m sure a lot of people are going to go for one of the big storylines, but I am very curious to see how the small mixed division will shake out. Pike, Danville and Norwell have all done very well in small mixed recently, but they will run up against gigantic prep groups from Linn-Mar and Millard North. With few Indiana schools fielding second mixed groups, I imagine this division will have quite the shakeup.
Ava: I know Carmel will be working very hard, as they always do, to prove themselves as one of the top groups in the country. I’m definitely intrigued to see how they shape up against Linn-Mar, a group who’s held a winning streak since 2022. I’m hoping for a caption split between the two groups.
Chris: Aside from the Linn-Mar vs Carmel headliner, I’m really interested to see what Carroll Magic will do. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs since their electric performance at HOA NYC 2023, where they put up a signature podium finish over Ankeny Centennial Spectrum and Daniel Hand VIBE. I’m sure many people will have Magic close to if not at the bottom of their predictions, but I would love to see them overperform, and I think they will.
Simon: Brandon has been seeking to prove themselves as one of the best groups in the country since the pandemic, and while they’ve done very well (earning wins over groups like WWS and Oak Mountain and splitting captions with Center Grove and Carmel) they have still been stymied by southern and national titans like Clinton, CG, Carmel, and Homewood. Something tells me, however, that this may be the year they put forth their best effort to change that; look for them to put forth their absolute best here and maybe, just maybe, earn a top-two finish.
What is the most insane part about this lineup?
William: It’s the middle of Brandon’s three Midwestern trips this year. Brio and Bellas will have already competed against Millard North (who they see here), Omaha Westside, Aberdeen Central, Lewis Central, and others at Millard West on January 25. Then they return to try and improve on what they did at Chesterton last year. After that, it’s to arguably another Event of the Year contender when they hit up Mt. Zion. It’s a gauntlet that would make even the top groups in the most loaded metro areas blush.
Chris: It’s the fact that Linn-Mar is stepping back out of state at a national-level competition. Carmel will likely be the toughest competition 10th Street Edition has faced since their winning streak began, including their 2023 Show Choir Nationals win.
Simon: This lineup is loaded at every level; you have national titans Linn-Mar and Carmel, top tier groups like Brandon and Mt. Zion, and groups like Millard North and Carroll that will be out looking to prove themselves. The single-gender is just as stacked, with a Brandon vs. Carmel rematch headlining events in that division, and small mixed has so many good groups and contenders that it is likely going to be even tougher to predict a winner in that division.
What is a large mixed group that has a potential to be a wildcard?
William: Honestly, give me Millard North. While they oftentimes get outshined by cross-district program Millard West, Infinity has become known for show designs that range from intricate to funny (but not corny) while maintaining a high level of technical excellence in the shows. With Infinity slated for a Copacabana show in 2025 and a schedule that has three competitions before Chesterton, this is a group that should come in with all the arsenal they have.
Ava: I would not put it past Brandon to take the choreography caption. Their choreography is notably the strongest aspect of the group. While it would be an uphill battle, Brandon is prepared for that and would leave it all on the stage against the other show choir titans..
Chris: As I said before, it’s Carroll for me. There’s just something about that group that is captivating to me. It’s going to be tough for them to compete vocally, but again I’ve seen performances out of Magic where their vocals really stand out.
Simon: Honestly, tough to pick. I’m going to agree with William and pick Millard North. They’ve been on the rise these past few seasons and could potentially be a contender for that 4th place spot here.
What is a large single-gender group that has potential to be a wildcard?
William: Did you know that Carroll Select Sound beat Los Alamitos Soundtrax at the end of 2023 at Heart of America New York? While 2024’s form wasn’t to that level, a resurgence of Select Sound in 2025 could cause trouble for several other groups looking to nab high placements.
Chris: Mt. Zion Les Femmes are really a dark horse to overperform here. They did fantastic at Wheaton Warrenville South last season against similar competition. I think their unique style of show raises their ceiling to a second-place finish.
Simon: Mt. Zion’s guys were my favorite single-gender performance at WWS last year, and I think their fun style of show has the potential to resonate with fans and judges alike, which might put them in the running for a podium finish here.
Tony Holeman, southern contributor: Brandon Bellas. Last year, this group took their biggest step forward and also garnered their biggest win in the group's history, placing over the famed Oak Mountain Muses at the Tift County Peach State Invitational. If they can top a group like The Muses, then there’s no telling what else they can pull off.
What is a group from either of the small divisions that has potential to be a wildcard?
William: Danville Executives, because they’re a mens group. Next question.
Chris: What Will said.
Simon: I feel like I should have a different thought here, so I’m going with Linn-Mar’s prep group. Iowa competitions usually separate out prep from small mixed, and so we really haven’t had a chance to see how In Step will do against small mixed competition. It’s very possible they take the entire small division here, but it won’t be their usual cup of tea.
Staff Predictions
Predictions were submitted by staff members and then scored via an ordinal consensus ranking system.
Large Mixed
GC: Linn-Mar “10th Street Edition” (BC)
1RU: Carmel “Ambassadors” (BV)
2RU: Brandon “Brio”
3RU: Mt. Zion “Swingsations”
4RU: Wheaton North “Flight”
5RU: Millard North “Infinity”
7th: Carroll “Magic”
8th: Northrop “Charisma”
Large Single-Gender
1st: Carmel “Accents” (BV, BC)
2nd: Brandon “Bellas”
3rd: Mt. Zion “Les Femmes”
4th: Linn-Mar “Hi-Style”
5th: Carroll “Select Sound”
6th: Mt. Zion “You’ve Got Male”
7th: Millard North “Illumination”
8th: Northrop “Allure”
9th: Westfield “Illumination”
Small Mixed
1st: Linn-Mar “In Step” (BV, BC)
2nd: Danville “Delegation”
3rd: Pike “Encores”
4th: Millard North “Intensity”
5th: Norwell “Knight Moves”
6th: BEAT “Amplitude”
7th: Alan B. Shepard “Nova”
8th: Bishop Luers “Minstrels”
9th: Columbus East “Center Stage”
10th: Twin Lakes “Sound Wave”
Small Single-Gender
1st: Pike “Mystiques” (BV, BC)
2nd: Danville “Executives”
3rd: Norwell “Knight Stars”
4th: Danville “Contemporaires”
5th: Columbus East “Serenade”
6th: Mother MacAuley “Mac Melody”