By Anne Marie Wright, Heartland contributor
Nevada will serve as the focal point for southwest Missouri competition this weekend, as several northern and central groups battle it out at Rock Bridge in Columbia. Nevada is doing something slightly different this year, combining the junior high competition with the high school and rolling it into one Saturday event. And to top it off, they’re completely mixing up the performance schedule so middle school, single-clef, small schools, and large schools are completely random throughout the day. It’ll be interesting to see how the scores shake out after having the divisions so scrambled.
Middle School Division
El Dorado Springs MS "Sound Investment"
Neosho JH "Wildcat Singers"
Carthage JH "Sound Intensity"
Neosho JH "Sho Stoppers"
Carthage JH "Sound Machine"
Webb City JH "Polyphonics"
Womens Division
Webb City "Bella Voce"
Carthage "Suite Sounds"
Mens Division
Webb City "DoMENance"
2A Division
Cabool "Rhythm in Blue"
3A Division
Mt. Vernon "Vocal Motion"
El Dorado Springs "Sound Collage"
4A Division
Atchison "Adrenaline"
5A Division
Webb City "Singers"
Carthage "Soundwave"
Raymore-Peculiar "Rush"
Nevada is looking much smaller this year than in years past (as in a little over half the amount of groups from last year), so it will be interesting to see who all makes it into finals at this competition. Neosho, Joplin, Seneca, and East Newton are just a few of the schools who will not be attending this year after competing last year.
At this rate, it’s anyone’s game for those top six spots. There will probably be some single-gender groups in there, some small schools, and maybe even a middle school group. All groups are scattered throughout the day, meaning judges will not get a chance to see comparable shows back-to-back until finals. For example, Mt. Vernon (a 3A group) will perform at 10:20 a.m, then Carthage Sound Intensity (a junior high group) at 10:45, then Webb City Bella Voce (a womens group) at 11:10. The lone exception to this is the 5A division, where all three groups will perform back-to-back-to-back.
Based on performances so far this season, it’s looking like Webb City Singers will be one of the front-runners, with Carthage Soundwave trailing close behind them. Bella Voce and Suite Sounds will also most likely make an appearance in finals, having been two standout womens groups so far this season. DoMENance has also made finals multiple times this season, which makes it a likely possibility that they could make it again. As for the sixth place in finals, Mount Vernon Vocal Motion and Ray-Pec Rush are looking like strong contenders to possibly snag that last spot.
This is going to be an experimental and interesting weekend in Nevada, Missouri, and if it’s anything like the other Midwest competitions this season, there will most likely be some shake-ups and surprises. Stay tuned for a recap article after the event has concluded!
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