Second Place
Showmanship
Best Show Design
Best Female Sound
Best Male Stage Presence (Ben)
Best Female Stage Presence (Janissa)
Judges Choice ("Man On The Flying Trapeze")
who asked for your two cents? i wasn't trying to personally attack anyone, i was trying to justify why i dont believe that apology from the president. a president represents their entire choir and if they're going to be rude and childish, then its going to have an effect on the entire choir. i know in that in our choir, our vma president is the one trying to keep everything under control, not the one trying to start things with other choirs. its not a personal situation, it involves my entire choir and this flame can't get any bigger really so dont make mean comments about it. this really hurt us so please dont act like its a stupid deal. you wouldn't know anything about it. and standing up for other choirs really doesnt mean anything. you're not going to make any more noise standing then you will by sitting. and saying sorry doesnt fix every problem. especially if they're fake apologies. and do NOT tell me to grow up. you are not my parent. thank you.
and just to clear the air, i dont dislike insync, just what some of them they did really hurt and will not be forgotten or not voiced. and thank you mr. caroll for that apology. burroughs very much appreciates it and thanks you for taking care of it. we love you. :]
Noerrrrrr!!!
i think youre right about the president's role, but i also think it's time to forget about it.
I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the comments that have been made about some of my students and their actions at the competition Saturday:
I have always made a point to emphasize how important good sportsmanship is to our reputation and why we need to make sure we never cross the line between pride and arrogance. Over the years, I have tried to teach my students that the competition experience is not all about winning AGAINST others. It really is about winning your own personal race to be the best you can possibly be. When we get too wrapped up (we includes students, parents, and directors too) in the outcomes of these events we can lose sight of what is most important. The real question is did learning and growth occur? And did we have a great time working together on something we all love.
Years ago, I learned that if I placed my self-worth as a director in the hands of adjudicators I would never be happy. Our program is not built on winning competitions. Our program is about using music as a vehicle to better ourselves and our lives, now and in the future. I am trying to teach this and concepts of character to my students everyday. For some reason, a few students in my program have not gained the maturity and integrity that it takes to know when and where to comment and how to filter personal feelings or opinions. As I have said to many, everyone has a right to an opinion.....but NO ONE has a right to hurt others or be rude with that opinion. That includes the Burbank students who were responsible for being rude to the Burroughs students.
Occasionally, we have experienced acts of poor sportsmanship directed at our program and I have maintained that those are the results of a few immature students and not reflective of a whole choir or their directors. Those situations never justify retaliation or response on our part. I have tried to teach my students to be gracious and to encourage others in their success. The majority of our students have been amazing and have been great ambassadors for our school, the city of Burbank, and the state. It is sad to see how easily a few students can smudge the reputation of so many with a careless word or deed...
Yes, the Burbank/Burroughs rivalry is intense and there has always been competitive tension, That is part of the great thing we have here in Burbank... we make each other better. Mr. Jennings, Jen Oundjian, and myself are friends and we love to compete against each other and we are all proud of what we have here in Burbank. We are "sibling" rivals since we are in the same school district and only a mile apart. We rejoice in their success and they have rejoiced in ours. We have even sent cards and flowers etc. to each other's programs over the years to recognize special achievements. So, for those out there who think the climate here in California is less sunny than depicted online: Of course, there are a few thunderstorms now and then....but really, this IS sunny Southern California and we do get along better and are much closer than what I experienced as a director in another part of the country.
With that said, I wish to apologize for the students who displayed a lapse in judgment about how to be kind and courteous after a competition. Please know that I am dealing with those students and I am quite upset. At times like this, I feel like I have failed to get across the message that this behavior is not what we are about. It takes so much away from all of my other great kids who are equally appalled at what a few of their classmates have done to our reputation.
I hope you guys can forgive and that we can continue to focus on what was, otherwise, an amazing and exciting competition.
Sincerely,
Brett Carroll
Burbank High
Mr. Carroll, you're awesome!
I'm speaking for myself here, but I definitely want to FORGET about the silly "tigger parade!" (lol) as someone referred to it as. Not that we're at each other's throats right now, but I'd like to go back to the incredibly friendly rivalry that we've had in previous years, and I think that's going to take efforts from BOTH burbank and my choir. I think some of us Burroughs kids just need to accept that we're not blameless and no one is, and I also think that some Burbank students need to keep criticism in private, if at all.
Honestly this statement makes you look really bad. Bringing up personal situations you had with a specific member of another choir doesn't really solve anything but add fuel to the fire. And if we're gonna talk about respect let's discuss when Burbank won the los al competition and if I do recall I saw no one from Jbhs stand up . Number one : practice what you preach. Number two : if your choir got an apology why continue to sludge the reputation of the group in question. If your choir would have taken top honors I doubt you would have very little to say about respect. Stop throwing dirt in the wound and grow up. Take your accomplishments from this year and talk about that. Stop this childish talk.
Congrats in sync . Amazing performance!
I don't think that aggressive attacks like the one responded to here are appropriate, BUT I also see a distinct difference between refraining from cheering and an outward act of negativity. We probably should have sucked it up at los al and cheered just as loud as if we had won, but everyone knows that that is a pretty difficult thing to do. I'm pretty sure that I saw many burbank students stay sitting when powerhouse won at arcadia, but I don't blame them for it. It sucked for in sync when they lost there, and it sucked for us when we lost at chula. So we both need to remember and recognize that feeling when we WIN and stay humble in our victories.
On a lighter note, seychelle from burbank came up to me after our prelims performance and told me how much she enjoyed our show and then gave me a hug. Out of nowhere! I hardly know her, but it definitely made me feel pretty awesome. And I know she's one of many burbank kids that are friendly and really cool to be around.
I think both Burroughs and Burbank are about as equal as it can get. 2 wins for Burbank and 2 for Burroughs and a tie that was awarded to Burbank. Congrats on the successful year of California Show Choirs!
Honestly this statement makes you look really bad. Bringing up personal situations you had with a specific member of another choir doesn't really solve anything but add fuel to the fire. And if we're gonna talk about respect let's discuss when Burbank won the los al competition and if I do recall I saw no one from Jbhs stand up . Number one : practice what you preach. Number two : if your choir got an apology why continue to sludge the reputation of the group in question. If your choir would have taken top honors I doubt you would have very little to say about respect. Stop throwing dirt in the wound and grow up. Take your accomplishments from this year and talk about that. Stop this childish talk.
Congrats in sync . Amazing performance!
who asked for your two cents? i wasn't trying to personally attack anyone, i was trying to justify why i dont believe that apology from the president. a president represents their entire choir and if they're going to be rude and childish, then its going to have an effect on the entire choir. i know in that in our choir, our vma president is the one trying to keep everything under control, not the one trying to start things with other choirs. its not a personal situation, it involves my entire choir and this flame can't get any bigger really so dont make mean comments about it. this really hurt us so please dont act like its a stupid deal. you wouldn't know anything about it. and standing up for other choirs really doesnt mean anything. you're not going to make any more noise standing then you will by sitting. and saying sorry doesnt fix every problem. especially if they're fake apologies. and do NOT tell me to grow up. you are not my parent. thank you.
and just to clear the air, i dont dislike insync, just what some of them they did really hurt and will not be forgotten or not voiced. and thank you mr. caroll for that apology. burroughs very much appreciates it and thanks you for taking care of it. we love you. :]
It has been an awesome year, it was tight all the way through, and it was full of surprises. Either a victory or an "upset" either way I have had A LOT of fun and i know that i have an amazing time this year. It has been an excellent experience and I know i will learn and only grow from this experience. Everything is over and done with now. Burbank is an excellent choir who i know is very talented and are EXCELLENT performers. Burroughs, we are good as well (from what i have heard). We both are two different choirs that have beaten the best in the country. We leave with a great end of the year and thats that!!! Personally, it doesn't matter who won more GC's then the other. We both are National Champs and we both had awesome sets to perform. It was a pleasure being able to compete with our neighbors Burbank. And I know I can't wait to compete again next year. Thank you to everyone for the love and support that you have given Burroughs. Thanks for a great season EVERYONE, watching everyone has made me grow as a musician even more then I was. Like I said it was a great competition season and it was an awesome Junior year!
Thanks again Everyone!!!
Andrew "Orbie" Orbison
I enjoyed hosting burbank sound dogs and I hope you boys enjoyed the burnt cupcakes we made at midnight the night before...
As for the groups that performed;
Everyone did their best; no doubt! I'm so proud to be a member of the show choir world, it is truly amazing to see people my age be so passionate about performing. And I'm so proud of all of the competitors.
As for the results...
I believe we are all at competitions to show what we got...and I believe the spirit of show choir has been misconstrued...although I have to say, I love the idea of revolutionizing show choir... It has evolved immensely and has become so exciting to watch.
I think one thing everyone needs to remember that we gather to these venues for one common love: performing for our friends and family. I often forget this "one love" idea as well and I end up focusing on winning.
This year has been filled with such heightened groups.. Every single group has improved since, not only since the beginning of the year, but since last year!
Negative comments create drama, remember there are two sides to every controversey and please consider both of them while reading the many posts in this forum.
Overall, this weekend was amazing, I've never hosted a better SoCal!
Every group that came out definately gave it their all...
There you go again Brett claiming to be mine and Brendan's "friend" I wish you would stop showing up to my parties claiming to be "invited"!!! Oh and that hug I gave you at the end of the evening???? I didn't really mean it.
I love you Brett Carroll and we had FUN drowning our sorrows that night and I got to stuff my face with Carl's Jr. I would have never done that if we would have won!!!!
I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the comments that have been made about some of my students and their actions at the competition Saturday:
I have always made a point to emphasize how important good sportsmanship is to our reputation and why we need to make sure we never cross the line between pride and arrogance. Over the years, I have tried to teach my students that the competition experience is not all about winning AGAINST others. It really is about winning your own personal race to be the best you can possibly be. When we get too wrapped up (we includes students, parents, and directors too) in the outcomes of these events we can lose sight of what is most important. The real question is did learning and growth occur? And did we have a great time working together on something we all love.
Years ago, I learned that if I placed my self-worth as a director in the hands of adjudicators I would never be happy. Our program is not built on winning competitions. Our program is about using music as a vehicle to better ourselves and our lives, now and in the future. I am trying to teach this and concepts of character to my students everyday. For some reason, a few students in my program have not gained the maturity and integrity that it takes to know when and where to comment and how to filter personal feelings or opinions. As I have said to many, everyone has a right to an opinion.....but NO ONE has a right to hurt others or be rude with that opinion. That includes the Burbank students who were responsible for being rude to the Burroughs students.
Occasionally, we have experienced acts of poor sportsmanship directed at our program and I have maintained that those are the results of a few immature students and not reflective of a whole choir or their directors. Those situations never justify retaliation or response on our part. I have tried to teach my students to be gracious and to encourage others in their success. The majority of our students have been amazing and have been great ambassadors for our school, the city of Burbank, and the state. It is sad to see how easily a few students can smudge the reputation of so many with a careless word or deed...
Yes, the Burbank/Burroughs rivalry is intense and there has always been competitive tension, That is part of the great thing we have here in Burbank... we make each other better. Mr. Jennings, Jen Oundjian, and myself are friends and we love to compete against each other and we are all proud of what we have here in Burbank. We are "sibling" rivals since we are in the same school district and only a mile apart. We rejoice in their success and they have rejoiced in ours. We have even sent cards and flowers etc. to each other's programs over the years to recognize special achievements. So, for those out there who think the climate here in California is less sunny than depicted online: Of course, there are a few thunderstorms now and then....but really, this IS sunny Southern California and we do get along better and are much closer than what I experienced as a director in another part of the country.
With that said, I wish to apologize for the students who displayed a lapse in judgment about how to be kind and courteous after a competition. Please know that I am dealing with those students and I am quite upset. At times like this, I feel like I have failed to get across the message that this behavior is not what we are about. It takes so much away from all of my other great kids who are equally appalled at what a few of their classmates have done to our reputation.
I hope you guys can forgive and that we can continue to focus on what was, otherwise, an amazing and exciting competition.
Sincerely,
Brett Carroll
Burbank High
First off, let me just thank Mr. Carroll for this very articulate and sincere response to all that has been expressed here in regard to the behavior of some of his students. I would like to add, that the singing of the alma mater and chanting "Burbank, Burbank" in the lobby below was a bit much as well, so, I do feel, in this case, that it IS somewhat reflective of the whole choir. At least in that moment. I feel that REAL winners delight in the acknowledgement of their competitiors work and feelings. I don't think that was done by the MAJORITY of BHS students. That is just an opinion not a slam. I used to hate it when I would apologize to someone, or acknowledge my wrong doing and they would brush off my apology with more examples of how wrong I was, so I don't mean for what I said to sound that way. It isn't meant that way. I truly admire those who didn't partake in that behavior and who later apologized. I really do anknowledge your maturity and sensitivity to how Powerhouse might be feeling. I believe that with the exception of one,(as noted in a previous post) all of Burroughs found your apology to be sincere and was well received and believed. Thank you for that.
Having said all of this, I want to remind everyone that we are talking about high school kids here. Not that much shouldn't or can't be expected of people so young, however, we ALL need to keep in mind that they are learning and growing and that they, like adults, are going to make mistakes and have lapses in judgement and moments of carelessness when it comes to others. To be honest, I have never seen JBHS do that kind of thing. I just may not have witnessed it. But I have been around that program for MANY years, and I just have never seen a more gracious bunch of winners. What happened after awards, quite frankly, made me nauseous, but let's not crucify Burbank. They are, after all, kids. And kids can be....well....kids, and the excitement of winning can be overwhelming.
Now, I don't happen to agree with the outcome of the competition. I have NEVER been above admitting when another choir is better than whatever one I happen to be affiliated with. But I didn't agree with the results this time. I think that JBHS flawlessly and FEARLESSLY executed a risky and highly advanced show. Singing beautifully in often 7 or more parts, brilliantly pulling off intricate choreography, and then the character work involved was unmatched by any other choir I have EVER seen, much less seen this season. They are just so impressive. I just didn't see that in the other choirs. I really think this was JBHS's year. It would have been nice to see them take it all home.
I, personally, think that BHS kids are amazing. But truthfully, I think the KIDS are better than the BHS show. The kids work hard, sing beautifully and dance great! But their show is unapealling to me. Again, just an opinion.
So what do we have? What are we left with? Just a bunch of "opinions", right? What is the purpose of this posting?
Just to be part of the conversation. Say what there is to say, and voice an opinion. Not to make anyone wrong or better than anyone else.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for allowing me to be a part of the conversation.
And to Brett, you run a beautiful program. You are a wonderful, talented and caring teacher who has, what I see as, a genuine desire to enrich the lives of children through music, and THAT is...c'mon now, say it with me, my...what? That's right, just my OPINION. ;) Congratulatios to AAAAAALLLLLL! This season of show choir gave me a much needed haven for love and creativity. Thanks to all of you nationwide.
That really was a fun competition. I'm not in the choir...I'm in the band for Mt. Eden...but still, I watched and listened to all of it, you guys are awesome. I can't even describe it. @_@;
I'm a girl, the keyboardist, and I had to wear a tie because the rest of the band were guys and I had to match them...ahaha that sucked. Oh wells. =P
Just a tiny reminder that the reason why Burbank has 3 GC's and Burroughs only has two, is because Burroughs hosts a competition where Burbank almost inevitably wins. Burbank doesn't host a choir comp. So, you're right, it IS kind of a tie for the whole season. However, I still feel (just my opinion) that Burroughs competed against some of the toughest choirs in Chicago. Burbanks only REAL competition in New York was DeKalb and they weren't really on the Burroughs/Burbank level, so..... Anyway, I think EVERYONE did a great job and it was a fantastic competition.
No, I didn't include the Burroughs competition in that. I only included competitions where they both competed against each other. Burbank won SO CAL, LOS AL, and Diamond Bar. Burroughs won Arcadia and Hart
Honestly this statement makes you look really bad. Bringing up personal situations you had with a specific member of another choir doesn't really solve anything but add fuel to the fire. And if we're gonna talk about respect let's discuss when Burbank won the los al competition and if I do recall I saw no one from Jbhs stand up . Number one : practice what you preach. Number two : if your choir got an apology why continue to sludge the reputation of the group in question. If your choir would have taken top honors I doubt you would have very little to say about respect. Stop throwing dirt in the wound and grow up. Take your accomplishments from this year and talk about that. Stop this childish talk.
Congrats in sync . Amazing performance!
first off, you weren't there. Secondly, "stop throwing dirt in the wound"?? It's Burroughs wound! Thirdly, Burroughs wasn't asking anyone to stand and cheer. They were just asking not to be disrespected.
WOW!!! Another In Sync/Powerhouse Tie. In 2006 If I remember correctly they didn't break the tie...they just called it a tie. Now another tie but, this time its broken by best vocals. Crazy stuff! At the beginning of the season when I saw In Sync I didn't think they would lose all year. Then, after Arcadia, Powerhouse stepped up to a whole new level and I didn't think Powerhouse would lose for the rest of the year and now In Sync steps up their game even more.
Amazing Rivalry, These choirs just push one another to get better and better. In sync and Powerhouse competed against each other 5 times this season with In Sync taking 3 GC's and powerhouse taking 2 Gc's. But I am calling 08 a complete tie between the 2 of them, they were both amazing this year. Thanks to everyone in So Cal for your hard work and for making this one of the most memorable seasons I've witnessed.
Just a tiny reminder that the reason why Burbank has 3 GC's and Burroughs only has two, is because Burroughs hosts a competition where Burbank almost inevitably wins. Burbank doesn't host a choir comp. So, you're right, it IS kind of a tie for the whole season. However, I still feel (just my opinion) that Burroughs competed against some of the toughest choirs in Chicago. Burbanks only REAL competition in New York was DeKalb and they weren't really on the Burroughs/Burbank level, so..... Anyway, I think EVERYONE did a great job and it was a fantastic competition.
Chula Vista SoCal Performance Show Choir Invitational 2008
and we do get along better and are much closer than what I experienced as a director in another part of the country. 
and I got to stuff my face with Carl's Jr. I would have never done that if we would have won!!!!
but let's not crucify Burbank. They are, after all, kids. And kids can be....well....kids, and the excitement of winning can be overwhelming.