Marietta didn't have any instrumentals other than a piano due to the fact that there was a band event the weekend of this competition and all of our instrumentalists were in band.
I definitely agree with the fact that Poca should have scored higher than us when it came to instrumentals, not to mention everything else.
However, our pianist was NOT merely chording the entire time. The pianist is our choir director, and his wife arranged all of our music herself.
Marietta has been ridiculously mediocre at best for years, under the direction of our old director. We just recently got a new director, one who has never directed a show choir before. We've worked so hard, and those of us who have been in the show choir all four years and under the old director want nothing more than to just be in a passable show choir for once.
We have a small school where no one cares about the show choir, so we have a smaller choir and we take all the boys we can get. We currently have under ten boys. That's all we can get to even try out. So I'm sorry that we're obviously not as sharp or as flashy as most choirs, but I'd really appreciate it if I didn't run into comments like "wow...marieta".
I mean, at least spell our name right.
In conclusion, I'm normally not this ridiculous. I'm sure you didn't mean to offend...but you did.
A congratulations is definitely in order!!
We went into St. C thinking we wouldn't have much competition but were really surprised by the choirs that we had overlooked before!
I looked over the score sheets today at school and searched for the 'interest' category but could only find a list of 5 or 6 things that the judges might consider to help them score the 'General Effect' category.. and what I could find in that list wasn't 'interest' but 'keeping interest'.. and I assume the sheets listed these things to give the judges some points to think about that pertained to each category at hand, considering these judges aren't experienced in show choir judging.
As one of the co-chairs for the Showcase of Sound, I on behalf of the other co-chairs would like thank all choirs and their supporters who attended our event on Feb. 14. The boosters and students had a great day hosting this event. One of our main goals was to provide a fun and entertaining day for all who attended and from preliminary comments this goal was accomplished. The talent that performed was overwhelming and topnotch! We do hope all choirs plan on returning next year.
A lot of time and effort go into planning such an event as anyone who has hosted such a competition knows, therefore, I feel the need to address the negative comments about the judging that have been made on this public forum. There was NO new category of interest on the scoring sheet. The areas judged were Vocal (150 points), Choreography (90 points), General Effect (30 points), and Instrumental Ensemble (30 points). Under General Effect the subtopics to be evaluated were effective opening, effective closing, varied pace and style of music, and sustained interest. Subjectiveness, unfortunately, is part of the judging process. I do not know what comments were written or said on the tapes, but I know we all have had to deal with criticism. Since there is currently no governing body to regulate scoring or training of judges, I, personally, do not see this concern going away anytime soon. To respond to the comment that “cheating” was taking place is a very strong accusation and one should be very careful of making such comments, especially in a public forum. We the co-chairs can assure you that this was a “clean” competition. Our judges have over 60+ years experience in performing, educating, and judging and were highly qualified to adjudicate this event.
One final comment, not all choirs utilized their time in the warm-up room and had difficulties with intonation during their performances therefore, scores may have been lower than expected.
Again, thank you to all the choirs and their supporters who attended our event. The booster organization is already making plans for next year, and any comments both positive and negative should be directed to any one of the co-chairs (Wendy Jacob, Lisa Smith or myself, Kim Evick) or our director, Mr. Berk. Thank you.
Congrats to Wapakoneta for both groups working their butts off to make spots in finals. Congrats to Martinsburg! Poca, im not sure the story behind everything but this was my first time seeing your show. pretty cooL! Loved the high risers !!
Finalists were Martisburg, Wapakoneta ( mixed), Wapakoneta (starlettes), and edgewood. that is how it placed in finals also. Poca did not make it in. Starlettes were 4th going in then overtook Edgewood by a small margin in finals. Congrats to Martinsburg for grand. Congrats to Wapak for both groups goin in!
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.
Our band received a 5/5 on difficulty of music. That's already more points than straight zeros across the board.
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.
Yes and no. This is where the judging becomes extremely subjective to the individual. All groups try to make there show interesting... I don't think directors are out to bore the audience and judges to tears.
Most judging sheets have an overall "general effect" column, I think that is where points would and should be docked if the show has problems with energy and flow. A sub-category of "interest" mixed within is completely opinion based. Granted a lot of judging is opinion oriented - I think we can agree things like diction and intonation are defined more clearly. When a judge says things like I don't care for the song it's just not my style, is that not out of bounds? After all it's not about the judges style its about the style of the show.
It just seems as if an "interest" section gives an excuse to judge against their own personalities instead of judging the groups against one another in the execution of their shows.
St. Clairsville Showcase of Sound 2009
