Despite the chaos in the Midwest, as snow canceled many of the big ticket competitions in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, show choir fans across the country were still able to enjoy the start of the Ohio show choir season on Beavercreek’s free livestream. Read on for discussion of the results of that competition and what they may mean for Ohio show choir in 2024.
Before the proper beginning of the article, a note. Before Beavercreek’s exhibition performance at the end of the competition, they congratulated their assistant director Vanessa Genatempo on officially being cancer free. HomeRoom Show Choir would like to congratulate her as well, and we wish her (and Beavercreek’s program) all the best.
Middle School Division
1 - Loveland Middle School “Revolution” (BV, BC)
2 - Hamilton Middle Schools “Cutting Edge”
3 - Jackson Middle School “Spark of Class”
Like middle school, like high school, it seems. Loveland’s middle school group, Revolution, swept Friday night’s middle school division with a show themed to summer camp, showing that they will remain a major player in Ohio middle school show choir this year. Hamilton Cutting Edge seems to have improved from 2023, beating out Jackson Spark of Class for second place after Jackson beat them at Marysville in 2023. All three groups will have their work cut out for them in Ohio’s tough middle school scene, particularly once groups like Bunsold, Ross, and ETC begin their competition seasons.
Single Gender Division -
1 - Hurricane “Heat Wave”
2 - Loveland “Allure”
3 - Noblesville “New Dimension”
4 - Marion Harding “Singers Xtreme”
5 - Teays Valley “Glamorous Edition”
Hurricane’s womens’ group Heat Wave replicated their success at Beavercreek from 2023, winning the single-gender division and earning a finals placement (more on that later) with a show themed to the National Football League. Loveland’s womens’ group, “Allure”, also replicated their 2nd-place finish in the single gender division from 2023 with a story show about a girl who dreams of being an astronaut, winning People’s Choice and earning a spot in finals in the process. Noblesville’s womens’ group earned a respectable podium finish in their division at their first competition of the season, while Marion Hardings’ mens’ group took 4th and Teays Valley’s womens’ group took 5th. Of special note, Marion Harding Singers Xtreme and Hurricane Heat Wave both had the same closer (“When Legends Rise” by Godsmack), making that song an early contender for the most used song of the year. All in all, this division saw a good competition as per usual, with the top two groups earning a finals performance.
Small Mixed Division -
1 - South Dearborn “Opening Knight”
2 - Jonathan Alder “High Society”
3 - Benjamin Logan “Standing Ovation”
4 - Teays Valley “Prominent Rendition”
5 - Elgin “Energizers”
6 - Milton-Union “Center Stage”
The Small Mixed lineup suffered a loss when, a few days before the competition, St. Clairsville dropped out. Still, despite the loss of a major Ohio small group, this division was still very competitive. 2023 division winner South Dearborn won the division for a second consecutive year, building their resume as one of the better small groups in the Indiana/Ohio competitive scene. Jonathan Alder took a well-deserved second place with their show about living in the moment, heralding a good competitive season for the program. Benjamin Logan also impressed, earning a podium finish to start off their second year as a competitive program, again heralding a bright future for the group. Teays Valley took 4th place, which might indicate something of a rebuilding year in their first season under new director Jonathan Michael, while usual Ohio small mixed suspects Elgin and Milton-Union rounded out the division with their respective 5th and 6th place finishes.
Large Mixed Division -
1 - Loveland “By Request”
2 - Hurricane “Red Hot”
3 - Noblesville “NHS Singers”
4 - Marion Harding “Harding Singers”
Though Piqua was not present at this competition (instead opting to go to Jay County’s event, which ended up getting canceled), the top four remained a worthy marquee showdown. After two consecutive years of third place finishes in prelims, Loveland took first place in Large Mixed prelims with their show about smiling and capturing moments in time. Hurricane, who has acted as something of a rival to Loveland over the years, took second with their creative house themed show, while middle tier Indiana group Noblesville took a close third in prelims with their Back to the Future story show. Marion Harding took 4th place in the Large Mixed division, but this is no slight; they had perhaps the strongest ballad of the day, and remain on their steady upward trajectory.
Finals
1 - Loveland “By Request” (BC)
2 - Hurricane “Red Hot”
3 - Noblesville “NHS Singers” (BV)
4 - Marion Harding “Harding Singers”
5 - Hurricane “Heat Wave”
6 - Loveland “Allure”
Well, for the third year in a row, Beavercreek has had an incredibly close finals round. Taking 6th place was Loveland Allure, one of two womens’ groups to make finals, with the other being Hurricane’s Heat Wave, who took a 5th place finish to cap off a great day. The top four spots were a repeat of the prelims placements in the Large Mixed Division, with Marion Harding taking 4th place. This all but confirms Marion Harding’s slow upward trajectory, as last year they placed 6th at this competition, with both Heat Wave and Allure beating them. This year, however, they beat both womens’ groups in a rematch, showing a marked improvement from last year in only the first week. Like many years past at Beavercreek, the top three were incredibly close in finals. Taking 3rd place was Noblesville, who also took home the caption award for Best Vocals, while Hurricane got second and Loveland was named Grand Champion, winning the caption award for Best Choreography. This kind of split caption decision (where the GC wins one and the other goes to the 3rd place group) is incredibly rare, and is a mark of an incredibly close competition between the groups.
What’s Next
Such a close competition is an exciting sign this early in the season. What’s even more exciting is what is coming later this season for all of these groups; in particular, the top two (Loveland and Hurricane, as well as their affiliated womens’ groups) will be going up against each other for a rematch on January 27 at Northrop, while Noblesville will next be competing that day at Ball State (their large mixed and varsity womens’ groups, that is; their womens’ prep group will start the season at Anderson January 20). Marion Harding will travel to Nitro, West Virginia, this weekend to compete before joining the fray at Northrop on January 27.
All in all, Beavercreek’s competition was an exciting start to the year for Ohio show choir, and the next few weeks should be incredibly exciting as well, with the massive rematch at Northrop as well as multiple other big Ohio groups making their debuts. Make sure to follow HomeRoom Show Choir for our coverage of it all!
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