First Place
Best Vocals
Best Choreography
Best Band
Best Show Design
Best Costumes
Best Female Soloist (Kamryn Starcher)
Best Instrumentalist (Kamryn Starcher)
It is an imperfect system, but just because Hurricane wins doesn't automatically mean they're cheating. Also, the show choir directors met and voted at the WVMEA conference a few weeks back to change from school size to group size. That is to everyone's advantage. Mr. Kincaid approached any changes with caution. We look forward to attending (RCB!).
As a senior member of Hurricanes Choir, I can assure that there is no "cheating" or "rigging" going on here! All we do is host a competition that is supposed to be fun for the whole state!! We are competing for our spot just the same as everyone else!!
Can someone in West Virginia fill us in on why this competition still happens with the same outcome for the past 9 years?? Id love some incite on how ‘wvmea’ hosts at hurricane every year., and why host groups are allowed to compete I guess.
It's the same deal as when Mitchell hosted South Dakota states for a year. The entire competition is run by the state organization, and the school merely serves as a venue for the competition. Did Mitchell win a competition that occurred at their own school? Yes. Did a "host group" win? No. Hurricane is the class of West Virginia show choir year in and year out, and I wouldn't bat an eyelash at them winning any competition - even ones that occur at their school.
Hi, jjleto! As a choir director in WV who competes at this festival and is a member of the Vocal Music Association, I'll give you some insight.
In 2015 Poca was giving up states after a number of years hosting the event. It then went to Woodrow Wilson high school in 2016 which has a great venue. The WV State Show Choir Chairman opted to put in there instead of Hurricane.
The following year in 2017 it did go back to Hurricane high school as that is where the chairman was teaching at the time. in 2018 it was then supposed to be hosted by another school at another location. The chairman however ran into some issues and the vocal music association asked the director at hurricane to take it back since they were well-versed in hosting it.
The chairman's position then went to a new director in the state as required by wvvma bylaws. It was hosted at Morgantown High School in 2019 and was slated to be hosted there again in 2020 - however, covid saw that festival canceled.
As the two-year cycle was up for the chairman, the position then went to the director at Cabell Midland High School. That director planned an outdoor amphitheater festival outside of the CMHS due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. That director was supposed to host it for another year, however, they took a new job. The vocal music association then had a new president who wasn't extremely familiar with how the festival worked. Therefore, they made a two-year appointment in the absence of the originally intended host at Cabell Midland High School.
Since the director at hurricane has had the most experience hosting the festival they asked him to take it - even though it wasn't necessarily what he wanted - but to ensure that the festival was still planned and executed well, he accepted the two-year appointment. After this year, the two-year cycle starts again and a new school will be hosting the event for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The festival was simply interrupted by the pandemic and the original chairman taking a new job.
Also, the "Host" is WVVMA and the school it's hosted at is typically where the chairman teaches. The school simply acts as a venue. The chairman does have the authority to select judges, vendors, etc. However, they are paid by WVVMA.
Yeah i completely agree they’re the best in the state hands down. Was just curious why Nitro, Winfield, other schools dont host at their school I guess. Thank you for the info
It's also designed to be a 2-year term. So this year other teachers around the state can be nominated to host the event for the next 2 years. Hurricane has just happened to host it for several years because of teacher turnover at other schools.
true for the state of indiana too. starting in 2007 state has since been held at a high school. A bad issue at the 2006 state comp changed a lot for indiana.
One thing to consider is that being the venue for the state show choir festival isn’t necessarily an advantage. Volunteers are not permitted to wear clothing that represents their school or choir. Students arrive early, but may not compete until the end of the day. The weeks leading up to the comp you are dealing with logistics and directors. You lose the sense of excitement when you are going to the room you always practice in, instead of getting on a bus and having a host take you to your room. If you are not disciplined, your students may get too comfortable in such familiar surroundings.
Although not impossible, it can be difficult for smaller choirs to become the venue just because of the number of volunteers needed. As the largest program in the state by a considerable amount, the benefit to having Hurricane host is the sheer volume of parents, letting students focus on the competition instead of hosting a choir or setting up risers.
However, a good chairman and boosters can overcome any disadvantages that come. I’m confident the next chairman will be just as great as the current one.
As of the 2023 West Virginia Vocal Music Association general meeting, it was decided that classes in the championship division would be based on choir size. Therefore the divisions are realigned as follows:
Class A (Large)
Hurricane High School Red Hot
Huntington High School Illusions
Class B (Medium)
Herbert Hoover High School High Impact
Winfield High School General Admission
Robert C. Byrd Vocal Intensity
Nitro High School Show Cats
Musselman High School Kaleidoscope
Class C (Small)
None competing - Ravenswood Rave Revue has withdrawn from the competition.
Class D (Festival Division)
Poca High School Visual Volume
Capital High School VIPs
Jefferson High School Pop Singers
Notre Dame High School The Shamrocks
Single-Gender division:
Hurricane High School Heat Wave
Winfield High School Emerald Elegance
Spring Mills High School Ethereal
Festival Division: Tier IV
Notre Dame "The Shamrocks" - 9:00
Capital 'Voices in Perfection" - 9:30
Jefferson "Pop Singers" - 10:00
Poca "Visual Volume" - 10:30
Spring Mills - 11:00
West Virginia State Show Choir Festival 2023
