Advanced and Novice Battles Abound at John Burroughs Music Showcase

By Jackson Ferrier, Western contributor

A staggering 38 choirs across nine divisions will take the stage this weekend at the John Burroughs Music Showcase, hoping for a late-season division win in Southern California. Burroughs is switching things up this year, having both Advanced Tier 1 high school divisions on Friday night, along with Novice Mixed and Treble and Middle School Mixed and Treble. Advanced Mixed Tier 2 will be finishing things off on Saturday night with a six-choir showdown, following Advanced Treble Tier 2 and Bass earlier in the day. 

Advanced Mixed 

Tier 1

John F. Kennedy “Executive Order”

Burbank “In Sync”

Tier 2

Bonita Vista “The Music Machine”

Oceanside “Soundwaves”

Diamond Bar “Marquis”

Cypress “High Voltage”

Chaparral “Platinum FX”

Valley Vista “Vocal Thunder"

Kennedy will face off head-to-head with Burbank in the Tier 1 division. In Sync is coming off of a great run this year, with wins over Los Alamitos, Fishers, and Lafayette Jefferson, to name a few. Kennedy has had a good season in new director Christopher Brush’s first year with the program, with their only showing thus far being at Burbank Blast, where they placed fourth behind John Burroughs, Los Alamitos, and Horizon. Even though Burbank is the favorite in Tier 1, it'll be interesting to see whether or not this matchup bears similar results to Burbank Blast. Tier 2 is a huge division, where any group could do numbers if they play their cards right. Diamond Bar and Cypress have already faced off twice this year, with Cypress coming up short on both occasions. Valley Vista has had a strong season as well, with a second-place finish against Horizon, although Vocal Thunder hasn’t competed in a month and a half (they did host in mid-March). While one of either Diamond Bar or Cypress are favored to win the division, the rest of the standings are up in the air here. 

Advanced Treble

Tier 1

John F. Kennedy “First Ladies”

Burbank “Blue Impressions”

Tier 2

Diamond Bar “Solitaire”

Cypress “Pink Thunder”

Saugus “Blue Heat”

Oceanside “High Seas”

Valley Vista “Tempest”

Bonita Vista “Sound Unlimited”

Similarly to Advanced Mixed, Advanced Treble has another head-to-head matchup between Kennedy and Burbank in Tier 1, and a six-choir Tier 2 division. In Tier 1, both groups only have a single showing this season, with Burbank placing third at Marysville behind Fishers and Lafayette Jefferson, and Kennedy placing third at Burbank behind Burroughs and Los Al. First place could go to either group here, and only time will tell who takes the win on Friday night. In Tier 2, both Saugus and Diamond Bar have taken at least one division win this season, while Cypress has come just short of first on two occasions. 

Novice Mixed

Sandra Day O’Connor “Harmonics”

Mater Dei “Show Choir”

Cypress “Shock Waves”

John F. Kennedy “Ambassadors”

Diamond Bar “Diamondtones”

Western Sierra “The Alphas”

North Torrance “Northern Lights”

Eisenhower “Ike Singers”

The Novice Mixed division will take up most of Friday afternoon with eight choirs competing. Mater Dei High School will have their competitive debut, while O’Connor is jumping over from their home California circuit. Cypress, Kennedy, Diamond Bar, Western Sierra, North Torrance, and Eisenhower finish off the rest of the division. 

Bass

Oceanside “Riptides”

Diamond Bar “Radiant”

Cypress “Voltage Unlimited”

John F. Kennedy “Secret Service”

Familiar names return for a big bass battle this weekend, with Oceanside, Diamond Bar, Cypress, and Kennedy facing off on Saturday afternoon. Oceanside, in their second competitive season, has only competed once thus far, placing second behind Hart at Cypress. Cypress has also only had one competitive outing this year, where they took second behind Burroughs at Brea Olinda. Diamond Bar took second against Los Al at Esperanza, and Kennedy placed third at Burbank behind Los Al and Burroughs. One of these groups is going to get their first division win of the season this weekend, and it's going to be a close race.