John Burroughs Powerhouse hs been selected to perform at the 2025 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference in Dallas during the third weekend of March.
Why is this a big deal?
The ACDA National Conference is the biggest gathering of choral music people in America every year. For the first time in its over 60 years of existence, high school show choirs have been invited to perform. ACDA invites only the best to its stages, and the group selected to perform is a true example of both elite-caliber performances and innovation in the show choir world: John Burroughs High School Powerhouse. Burroughs will represent not only its school, city, and state, but also the art of show choir as a whole on arguably the biggest stage a show choir has ever touched (no, Glee doesn't count).
This year’s ACDA National Conference will take place in Dallas, Texas. The state of Texas has long been a show choir sleeping giant of sorts. It’s been a developing show choir region for many years now, and has gradually been growing more competitive every year. Just this year, there are two new competitions in Texas, as well as multiple new show choir programs. Texas is also well known for its massive emphasis on music education as a whole. To platform show choir in this way in Dallas will bring the art form to the attention of many choir enthusiasts in Texas and also high-quality programs throughout America.
Why this group?
Although it’s impossible to know the motives behind ACDA finally selecting show choirs to perform at their conference, it must be said that Powerhouse is an excellent choice to present the art form.
Powerhouse is really the highest end of show choir. With dazzling light displays, unbelievable costumes, and a mind-boggling budget, Powerhouse is really one of the flashiest groups out there. There’s very few groups out there that can compete with the overall impression a Powerhouse show can make on a first time show choir viewer. They represent the full extent of what a show choir can be, with the highest-quality show design, vocals, and choreography.
Break a leg!
Even if this performance doesn't start a wave of new show choirs and turn Texas into a new top circuit (as they do in the community's wildest dreams), this is still a really nice baby step to show choir being acknowledged more broadly. If nothing else, this is a wonderful opportunity for the program at John Burroughs to show off what it can do at a high level. So on behalf of show choir fans everywhere, make us proud!
Editor's note: a previous version of this story stated in error that Fort Worth Southwest would also be performing at the ACDA National Conference. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion that arose as a result.
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