From Rhode Island to California, there was still plenty of show choir to go around the country last weekend!
Bishop Hendricken Lil’ Rhody Rumble
Large Mixed
1st: South Windsor “Choral Spectrum” (BV/BC)
2nd: Waltham “Music Unlimited” (BB)
3rd: Shepherd Hill “Fantasy”
4th: Tantasqua “ENCORE!”
5th: Andover “From Start to finish”
6th: Somerset Berkley “Electrify”
Small Mixed Winner: Music Academy of Western New York “SHOUT” (BC)
Womens Winner: Shepherd Hill “Illusion” (BV/BC)
Choral Spectrum didn’t compete this year until February 10. They were fifth on March 16 at Andover. And they took home a two-caption win over Waltham at Bishop Hendricken. Choral Spectrum’s win was the group’s first since 2018 and was the end to a three-competition season. Waltham rounded out their season with yet another second place, their fourth in six competitions this year. Jonathan Masse also picked up a fourth individual award. Shepherd Hill picked up their first podium finish since this competition last year. SHOUT took home their first-ever division win after placing third in small mixed at Rumble last year. They will now compete at Show Choir Canada. In the womens division, Illusion is now two-for-three on the year. They will look to go three-for-four at Waltham on April 6.
Cypress Star Reflections
Advanced Mixed I: John F. Kennedy “Executive Order”
Advanced Mixed II: 1st) Hart “Sound Vibrations”, 2nd) Brea Olinda “Masquerade”
Advanced Womens I: John F. Kennedy “First Ladies”
Advanced Womens II: 1st) Hart “Hartbreakers”, 2nd) Brea Olinda “Spellbound”
Cypress’ set of advanced divisions wound up featuring exactly the same results – JFK choirs performing alone in the top division, with Hart defeating Brea Olinda in the lower division. There’s not a ton to digest here. Executive Order hasn’t had competition in division since February 24, and they won’t until Oceanside on April 20. Sound Vibrations took home their second-straight division win, while Hartbreakers took home their first division win of the season. California will now lay low for the next two weekends before a couple large end-of-season competitions, John Burroughs April 12-13 and Oceanside April 18-20.
Heart of America New York City
Final Results
GC: Daniel Hand “VIBE” (BV/BC)
1RU: Olentangy “Keynotes” (BB)
2RU: Edgewood “Music Warehouse”
3RU: Edgewood “Sophisticated Ladies”
4RU: Olentangy “She-Notes”
VIBE was fifth in finals at this event one year ago. They emerge this year as winners of the event and four-time winners on the season. It was the last hurrah for the Velveteen Rabbit set, which won its first competition on January 13 and its final one on March 23. Olentangy notched its highest finish since February 10th and its first Best Band award since January 27, a good end-of-season showing for them. Edgewood came in third and fourth, one of those rare instances where a program places its choirs in consecutive slots not at the top of the results sheet, but somewhere down the line. In prelims, Sophisticated Ladies nabbed its fourth division win of the year. She-Notes rounded out the field, as all five high school choirs in attendance made finals.
Powhatan Diamond Classic
Large Mixed
1st: Cosby “Spotlight” (BV/BC/BB)
2nd: Clover Hill “New Dimensions”
3rd: Musselman “Kaleidoscope”
4th: Atlee “Illusion”
Middle Mixed Winner: Martinsburg “Good Times” (BV/BC/BB)
Small Mixed Winner: Hanover “Sound FX” (BV/BB)
Overall Womens Winner: Cosby “Rhapsody”
Another season has now come and gone for Virginia. The main storyline, once again, is Cosby. Not much more can be said about Spotlight that hasn’t been said yet – the group is now riding a seven-competition winning streak. Rhapsody, however, beat Douglas S. Freeman on Friday night to take the overall grand championship, a flip of where those two groups had placed earlier on in the season. Clover Hill notched a solid season across several states, and is right back in the conversation for the top three groups in Virginia. Martinsburg’s competition season took them from Massachusetts to Ohio to West Virginia to Virginia, and the show has gotten better everywhere it’s been. Hanover also ran an undefeated season in small mixed in 2024. Hopefully, it’s a sign that the once-large mixed program is on the upswing again and may move up a division next year.
West Virginia State Show Choir Festival
Championship Mixed
1st: Hurricane “Red Hot” (BV/BC/BB)
2nd: Winfield “General Admission”
3rd: Robert C. Byrd “Vocal Intensity”
4th: Poca “Visual Volume”
5th: Huntington “Illusions”
Festival Mixed Winner: Capital “Voices in Perfection” (BV)
Womens Winner: Hurricane “Heat Wave” (BC/BB)
While there’s never a sure thing in show choir, Hurricane winning West Virginia states in the 2020s seems like the closest thing there is to it. Red Hot hasn’t lost this competition since 2014. Winfield won the ‘best of the rest’ title, notching three smaller captions as well. Robert C. Byrd went without the Best Female Soloist caption for the first time this year en route to Vocal Intensity’s third-place finish. After winning small mixed last year, Poca fought with the big dogs this year and came in fourth. Capital survived a large challenge from Jefferson, who won Best Choreography and Best Band, to take the win in Festival Mixed. Heat Wave saw Best Vocals get taken by Winfield Emerald Elegance, but came out on top of the scoresheet to keep their perfect record at states since the group was founded in 2017.
While the show choir circuit will hit the pause button for this weekend, plenty of action will be back on stage April 6th!
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