Girls Reign Supreme at Poca MusicFest, Place First and Third
- 13 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Tonya Chase, West Virginia contributor
While Grafton was forced to cancel their competition, and West Virginia choirs Hurricane, Martinsburg, and Jefferson were unable to travel to Twinsburg, Ohio, Poca Visual Volume turned up the heat and was ready to host their competition, MusicFest. The day started with spectators guessing where the parking lines were as eight choirs braved the snowy conditions, taking the stage at the competition featuring small and medium-sized choirs from around the region.
Emerald Elegance, Winfield High School’s single-gender choir of nearly fifty female singer/dancers, came away with the sweep including Grand Champion, Best Band, Best Show Design, Best Vocals and Best Choreography. They creatively use costumes and set designs to communicate the different phases of the poem “The Giving Tree.” While dominant regionally, it will be interesting to see how this choir does on a bigger stage at Center Grove Best of the Midwest on Feb. 21, where they will compete in the small division in a one-and-done contest. General Admission finished second with their comedic take on Saturday morning television. Flooding all the Generation X parents in the audience with memories of their childhood, their nostalgic show should continue to do well. They will face their toughest competition yet as they leave the state to join their single-gender group at Center Grove.
The surprise of the evening was single-gender outfit Cabell Midland Rhythm in Red finishing third among groups such as Teays Valley Prominent Rendition, St. Clairsville St. C Singers and Nitro Showcats. Inspired by Nintendo’s Mario Brothers, the show has all the features of the game in a creative and entertaining way. Rhythm in Red continues to improve year over year vocally but could have their hands full next week as they go up against Grove City Class Act at Hurricane’s Red Hot Championship.
Among the exhibition groups, Act One, a middle school show choir program led by David Legg and Brooke Smolder, made their performance debut. This program will give middle school students in the Kanawha Valley another creative outlet while they wait their turn to audition for high school ensembles. Poca Visual Volume introduced their beach-themed show after cancelling their dinner theater in January and the postponing of Winfield’s Emerald Classic. These students will compete for the first time later this month as they take the stage at Robert C. Byrd Vocalfest in the small mixed division.