Ohio's 2026 Show Choir Season Promises to Be Bigger and Better

By Simon Zimmerman, Michael McHargh and Fox Gansler, contributors

2025 saw lots of ups and downs for Ohio groups. At the top of Ohio show choir, Marysville began the season with four straight wins and took Best Choreography off Center Grove on their way to a third-place finish at a stacked Fairfield Crystal Classic. Solon, meanwhile, put together an undefeated season, beating basically every Ohio large mixed group not named Marysville on their way to sweeping their four Ohio competitions, as well as several major Indiana groups at Homestead. Props are due as well to Piqua, who overcame a rough start to the season at Beavercreek to win two competitions, and Grove City, who placed on the podium five times in a row before losing their podium streak at a tough Fairfield competition. 

On the other hand, several Ohio groups faced struggles in 2025. Most notably, Findlay struggled during their first year under their new creative team; for the first time in over a decade, they had a winless season, and they fell to groups like Beavercreek and Olentangy that First Edition beat easily in years prior. Another group that had a winless season in 2025 was Loveland, whose lighthouse-themed show fell to groups like Olentangy and Fairfield, though they did manage to end their season by beating Grove City. 

In small mixed, Edgewood continued to dominate (as usual). The Choraliers placed on the overall podium three times in 2025 and won the middle mixed division at Fairfield, though they did fall to several Indiana groups in a tough finals round at Homestead. Perhaps the biggest story in small mixed, however, was Euclid, who rattled off three wins in a row in February (their first three wins ever as a program). Their streak included two sweeps and victories over several small and middle mixed contenders from Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. A final shoutout goes to Ross, who continued settling into small mixed with divisional wins at Loveland and a stacked Fairfield small mixed finals. 

In single-gender, Grove City Class Act was at the top of the scene. Their season, which included an overall podium placement at Hurricane and a pair of divisional wins, reflects the improving fortunes of Grove City’s program. Another impressive single-gender run came from Loveland Allure; their 2025 season included three finals placements, including at a stacked Mt. Zion competition, though they failed to place in a crowded single-gender division at Fairfield. Rounding out Ohio’s top single-gender groups was Fairfield Pure Elegance, who placed twice in overall finals and beat groups from three states to win single-gender at Marysville. 

And that was Ohio’s 2025 season! 2026 promises to bigger and better in many ways. For one, the season starts earlier, on January 10 at Van Buren; the first major competition will be at Beavercreek a week later, and will feature Ohio heavyweights Loveland, Solon, and Piqua going up against out of state groups like Hurricane and Noblesville. Stacked lineups also feature at Olentangy (where Marysville, Loveland, and Fairfield will go up against Center Grove) and Twinsburg (where Marysville and Solon will face each other for the first time since February 2024, with ETC and Hurricane thrown in for good measure). And that’s all in January and early February! With stacked lineups like that throughout the season, Ohio show choir is sure to be competitive in 2026. 

What’s changed for 2026?

• Rebecca Sabree, former assistant director at Mayfield, will take over as director of Twinsburg Great Expectations following the departure of Peter Hampton.

• Medina Encore Entertainment Company has brought in Tara Tober as choreographer after a four-year stint working with Jeff Jordan.

• April James joins ETC The All Americans as a choreographer. Additionally, Carson Reitz, the director of the program’s middle school group, Main Street Singers, will step up to be an assistant director following Zack Triscari's departure.

Who’s on the rise?

• Euclid Varsity Chorale had themselves a wild 2025 season and remains a top group to watch in 2026. At Walsh Jesuit, Euclid claimed their first grand championship in school history over a stellar Martinsburg Good Times group that also competed well all year. Not only did Varsity Chorale just win a competition last season, but they backed it up with two more, with wins coming at Sissonville and Alliance. Euclid accomplished all of this success following a 2024 season in which the group only placed one time with a fifth runner-up result at Sheridan that year. Every aspect of their show last year, from the vocals and choreography to the show design, seemed much improved from the years prior. Euclid will look to keep this level of success in 2026 and moving forward.

• In recent years, Edgewood Choraliers have been considered among the best small mixed programs in the state. In 2025, at their debut event of the season, Choraliers fell just short of victory at North Royalton in a split-caption bout with Churubusco. The rest of the season, Edgewood continued to bring home solid placements but also continued to run into stiff competition. Within state lines, Edgewood tends to be a strong small or medium mixed contender for the division win. While traveling to the Hoosier State, the group tends to run into some of the strongest small mixed names that Indiana’s rich scene has to offer. Choraliers last won a competition in 2023, and since then, they’ve often fallen short of large mixed powerhouses like Marysville, Fairfield, or Solon. Maybe 2026 will be the year that Edgewood can get over that hump and compete for grand championships once again.

• In 2025, Ross Legacy started to gain traction once again since Sterling Finkbine left the program in 2023 after a decade-long tenure as director. Ross established themselves as one of the best small mixed groups in the state last season, bringing home two division titles, coming at Loveland and Fairfield. Legacy ended up first runner-up at Ben Davis behind Pendleton Heights and made finals at North Royalton and South Dearborn as well. Looking ahead to 2026, as Ross reasserts themselves as the small mixed powerhouse that they once were, they’ll likely have to claw around the major large mixed names in the Buckeye State to win their first competition since 2023.

Who has something to prove?

• After winning three division titles during last year’s campaign, Buckeye Valley Visions will be a group to watch in 2026. The group started to gain ground in the years shortly after the pandemic. But after a 2023 director change, Visions is just now coming back into the spotlight. Buckeye Valley took home several solid division placements throughout the year last year and made finals appearances at Kenton and Alliance as well. This season, Buckeye Valley will likely be a strong small mixed contender at most competitions, and could potentially be a grand champion at the less crowded events on their schedule.

• Last season, Van Buren The Association competed for the first time since prior to the pandemic. In the fall, The Association made the trip to Ada where the group won their division. During the winter season, Van Buren placed at two of their three events, including a finals appearance at Alliance. The group once again made finals at Ada this past fall and appears to be on track for another season of progress in Ohio’s competitive scene. In 2026, Van Buren could very well be one of the top small mixed groups in the state.

What competitions are looking good?

• Jan. 17: Beavercreek. Another year brings another great Beavercreek lineup to start the Ohio season. This year’s competition will see 2025 champion Solon defend their title against Noblesville (2025 second place), Piqua (2025 fourth place), Loveland (2025 fifth place), as well as West Virginia top dog Hurricane. A Solon win here would be a good start to another season at the top of the pack in Ohio. 

• Feb. 7: Twinsburg. This year’s Northcoast Invitational will feature a marquee matchup between Hurricane, Marysville, and Solon. ETC will also be in attendance; while All Americans could definitely make some noise in the mixed division, there are larger implications for single-gender, which will feature a matchup between women’s groups from Hurricane, ETC, and Marysville. 

• Mar. 7: Fairfield. The Crystal Classic will be taking place on March 7 this year, which is slightly earlier than normal. However, the lineup at this year’s competition is just as amazing as in years past, with groups from at least six states making the trip. Loveland will represent Ohio in a stacked mixed division that will feature Indianapolis standout Zionsville, Southern powerhouse Brandon, and top Nebraska group Millard West among others. Fairfield will also feature a good Small Mixed division as well; Ross, Edgewood (the Indiana one), and Florida's (!) Tarpon Springs are just some of the diverse groups that will fill out that division. 

• Also Mar. 7: Solon. It’s somewhat rare for there to be two major competitions in Ohio on the same day, and even more remarkable for the two to feature such stacked lineups as Fairfield and Solon. Solon’s competition, which shares the day with Fairfield, features more top Ohio groups; Marysville, Findlay, and Grove City will be taking the stage in large mixed, setting up a showdown between groups that are all potentially top-five in Ohio. Small mixed is looking good as well, with attending groups North Royalton, Edgewood (the Ohio one), and Twinsburg also all being potential top-five contenders in Ohio small mixed.