Northrop Classique Gathers Groups from Fort Wayne and Beyond
- AJ Prentice
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
By A.J. Prentice, Fort Wayne contributor
Fort Wayne’s first competition is just around the corner. Northrop retains its spot as first on the calendar this year for the region, and the Fort Wayne regulars will be seeing some new faces from out of town.
The Lineup
Large Mixed
Carroll “Magic”
ETC “All Americans”
Small Mixed
Wawasee “Warrior Songscapes”
East Noble “Knight Rhythms"
Bellmont “Brave Generation”
DeKalb “Classic Connection”
Churubusco “New Era”
Jay County “Patriot Edition”
Womens
South Side "Sound Waves”
East Noble “Premiere Edition”
Jay County “Just Treble”
Carroll “Select Sound”
ETC “Rouge”
Fort Wayne Visitors
Almost every year Northrop sees some visitors, and this year is no different. ETC represents strong competition for Carroll, who has seen mixed results against outside groups.
Jay County’s Early Game
Jay County and Churubusco faced off several times last season, with the two of them and Columbia City trading placements and captions all year. Jay County, however, has a reputation for being a formidable opponent early on, and claimed first place in their division at Northrop last year. Churubusco, and now DeKalb this year, both have their work cut out for them.
New Knight Rhythms Leadership
East Noble once again has seen a change in leadership. Last year, after a similar director change, East Noble put up a real fight and give one of their best shows. If East Noble and their new director Cadence Lehman can keep that momentum going, they could give the other small mixed groups a scare.
Ball State Exhibition
After the unfortunate cancellation of the Ball State Mid-America Show Choir Championships, Ball State’s collegiate show choir, Singers, will now be doing an exhibition at Northrop on the same weekend they would usually host and do an exhibition at Ball State. This is a great opportunity to showcase a collegiate show choir, which is not the most common thing in America.
Predictions
This year, Northrop is taking five finalists in the mixed division, and three in the womens division.
Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir.
Mixed
GC: ETC “All Americans”
1RU: Carroll “Magic”
2RU: Jay County “Patriot Edition”
3RU: Churubusco “New Era”
4RU: DeKalb "Classic Connection"
The Carroll/ETC matchup at the top will be an interesting one to watch. Both groups have had incredible years in the past few seasons. The question will be if either or both are on the trajectory to do so again this season. Behind them, Jay County and Churubusco should be fairly evenly matched as well. At the end of last season, Churubusco came out on top in the rivalry, but Jay County always starts incredibly strong. DeKalb will likely sing well enough to put them through to the evening round, but how much damage they are able to do will depend on if their show has the complete package at this point in the season.
Womens
GC: ETC “Rouge”
1RU: Carroll "Select Sound"
2RU: Jay County "Just Treble"
Rouge has spent year in and year out competing in an incredibly intense Ohio single-gender circuit, and that battle testing should be a point in their favor coming into Northrop. Select Sound, as the other large womens group in attendance, should be a contender as well. Of the small groups, Jay County has historically been the most successful. That, combined with the early-season hot streaks that the entire program is known for, bodes well for a finals appearance.