By Anne Marie Wright, Heartland contributor
Well, it was another extremely interesting weekend for show choir in Missouri. Joplin In the Spotlight (while managing to stay pretty on-schedule for most of the day) had an interesting turnout at the end of the day. With 15 choirs in attendance and only three large mixed groups, it was anybody’s game for taking the last three finals spots. It was certainly a game, and it also resulted in a seventh finalist added.
In prelims for the small school divisions, Cameron took fourth place, East Newton and its Scooby-Doo show took third, Mt. Vernon took second with their Bonnie and Clyde show, and Hollister Blue Harmony continued their division win streak, also taking the Judges’ Choice award for their story of King Midas and his golden touch. Then in the 4A division, McDonald County took second with its Don Quixote show and Seaman Viking Voices came in at number one for the division with their Disney-inspired set.
In the mens division, Webb City DoMENance bested Jenks’ new group, Airemen, in a head-to-head battle of the bass choirs. DoMENance also secured Best Closer, and Maddox Wood took home his second Best Soloist award so far this season. In the womens category, Jenks Trojan Spirit came in at a solid third place, trailing behind Webb City Bella Voce and Broken Arrow Tiger Mystique. Along with their first place trophy, Tiger Mystique also took home Best Costumes for the day.
In the large mixed division, three extremely impressive choirs went up against each other: Webb City Singers (with their football homecoming show), Jenks Trojanaires (with Alice through the kaleidoscope), and Broken Arrow Tiger Rhythm (with their story of the three siblings who made a deal with death). Jenks secured Best Opener for the day with their rendition of Lindsey Stirling’s “Shatter Me.” In prelims, Singers was in third, Trojanaires in second, and Tiger Rhythm in first.
Moving into finals, these placements seemed pretty solid as all three groups advanced to their next evening performances. Joining them in finals were Broken Arrow Tiger Mystique, Hollister Blue Harmony, and both of the other Webb City groups, Bella Voce and DoMENance (for the second time this season and second time in Webb City history). It seems it’s becoming a pattern for Missouri comps to take seven finalists instead of six, as we’ve seen at Mt. Vernon and now Joplin. It was good to see representation from almost every division in this finals group, as smaller groups like Hollister and mens groups like DoMENance don't always make finals.
The finals were a tight race for these seven groups as they fought to climb to the top of the pack. After a thrilling second round of performances, the higher placements underwent a major shake up. At the end of the night, Hollister Blue Harmony came in at sixth runner up, staying in the same place as their prelim scores, and DoMENance clocked in at fifth runner up, also holding tight in sixth place. Bella Voce came in at fourth runner up, following behind Tiger Mystique at third runner up.
Here’s where things get interesting. In prelims, Tiger Rhythm was in first, Trojanaires second, and Singers third. However, after the final performances were over, Singers and Trojanaires flipped, putting Jenks in third and Singers in second. Tiger Rhythm swept the competition, taking home a variety of caption awards, including Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Band, Best Show Design, Best Crew, Best Ballad, and Brailyn Goodnight took a Best Soloist caption. It was Broken Arrow's fourth win at Joplin, and it was a good triumph - they will head to Iowa this weekend to tackle a very tough competition.
This year seems to be a season of surprises for Missouri show choir, with everybody kept on their toes until the very end of each comp. It’s unpredictable, but it’s exciting to see so many talented groups going against each other to make these switch-ups and upsets happen each week. Choirs throughout the region are absolutely coming to play this year, so it looks like it’s going to be a constant battle right up until the end of the season for these talented Heartland choirs.
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