In 2007 Beavercreek finished 7th or 8th, can't quite remember, in a field that they usually would make finals in. I watched each choir that day and I had them squeaking into finals in 6th place. Instead of them, my "7th Place Choir" got the last finals spot. I'm not an expert by any means(Vocal Ed. Student at OSU), but I pretty much agreed with the judges decision.
I can't comment on the results from yesterday because I wasn't there. Instead I'll talk about generalities about the Showcase that I think you guys should know.
There are a few reasons why the showcase has had problems getting full rosters of choirs. First is the venue. St. C doesn't have the facilities to host a show choir competition. Our auditorium holds possibly 100 and the stage is about the size of large dining room table and our gymnasium doesn't have an exterior entrance on gym floor level. We have to use Ohio Eastern University or other local high schools. That leads to problems scheduling. Most places won't allow us to book a date a year in advance to allow the showcase to sit in a consistent weekend.
As for Judges, Mr. Berk(St.C's Director) uses qualified musicians/teachers/directors that are outside of the realm of show choir. He wants individuals that don't have preconceived notions about choirs coming into the day. The problem is that results in judges that have little to no experience judging show choir competitions.
As for a category of interest in song selection, I personally agree with it. Show choir is entertainment first and foremost. In my opinion a show that has bad pacing or bad arrangements but performed almost perfectly is much worse(and boring) then a well planned out show performed decently. I'm glad that there is a category to put that information in, instead of docking it from other unrelated areas.
what happened at the last competition
In 2007 a similar thing, however with different choirs occured.
I was not there, so I cannot say who did or did not deserve what scores thay recieved. However, in regard to the zeros, which I too find VERY suprising, (for me the only way that I think a zero should be given out is if 1) there is no band to judge, which could include pre-recorded music or, 2) a band that has no, or nearly any high school aged students.) At best, I would hope that the day was a generally low scoring one, in which the Best Combo award was given to a band scored with 2s and 3s, therefore a zero would be possible, but I doubt that is the case.
And, could someone please post the Judges and any given information on them.
"Last time I knew judges were supposed to judge on how well the number was performed not on whether or not they like the song in general"
While I understand the argument that since students generally don't make design decisions, therefore only execution should be judged and not content, choice of material is a big part of the success of a show and I think should be judged as part of the whole. It correlates to a show's effectiveness, pace and impact. Though judges are human, a good one would not just respond with "I don't like this song," but rather "this song doesn't work for me here because..." Some songs just don't lend themselves to choral arrangements, sometimes a song is out of place in a show and the flow is interrupted, sometimes a number just falls flat with an audience not due to execution but because it's been over-used.
Well...
I think the comp went well.
Poca's male sound was weak...
and there were quite a few mess-ups in the show...
Marieta...haha
wow..marieta..
lol
i dont understand how they got higher on the band score..but i do know..that pianist was just chording the whole time...
and Edgewood had a fun show..i liked em.
But i am glad poca didnt make finals...
they sat in the front row during our daytime performance laughing, and didnt stand nor clap at the end of the show...
very rude.
Not to mention the lovely new judging category of "interest" in the song selection.
I've never ever in my three years of performing with the Choraliers ever seen an "interest" category on a judging sheet.
Last time I knew judges were supposed to judge on how well the number was performed not on whether or not they like the song in general. I don't care for a few of the song we perform... but there is rarely a show I've watched where I loved every song choice. Never in my mind has that destroyed a show, especially if the group still performed it well and had fun with it.
I watched Poca's show and they definitely deserved to be in finals.
Marietta pretty much has a piano only... they had higher band scores. The only way in my mind that you can score a band with zeros is if they are cheating somehow.
I was thinking the same thing, until I remembered the last time St. Clairsville had a competition, and then it just all seemed to make sense.
what happened at the last competition
Gotcha, thank you Kincaid for clearing that up, it's sad that judges were giving zeros out...! I hope you guys take their critiques and grow even better... Good luck at your next competition ...
Poca had an interesting day at St. Clairsville. We recived our first zeros ever from three judges. However, our host for the day were wonderful and the backstage dads were great.
St. Clairsville Showcase of Sound 2009
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