I can honestly say I am floored by how much all the Ohio groups are stepping it up this year. It's always a pleasure to come back and see how much show choir is growing and evolving. I really enjoyed myself yesterday, despite some rude alumni from a couple of the choirs. It's okay to think you should be able to sit in the front row for your choir, and I totally agree that its typically a good idea to allow that, both for the sake of the performing choir and those who drove to see them. However, I was a few rows back from the front and watched quite a few alumni throw temper tantrums when people (who paid the same amount of money as those alumni and got in line early to get the seats they got, all while following the rules of the competition, which didn't enforce a rule about fans of the performing group sitting in the first row) weren't willing to give up their seats. I totally understood the frustration of these people, as they just wanted to support their home school, but the situation was not handled well at all and those people really didn't make their home school look good in the slightest. There were some alumni from Findlay who willingly gave up their seats for people from other schools, and I have to say that once again Findlay has proven that despite their long reputation for excellence, they are always humble people and a pleasure to be around.
That being said, all of the choirs in finals were fantastic. I agree with pretty much all of the comments made by salohcin714- and I'm glad to not be the only one to feel that way.
Twinsburg gave an incredible performance in finals, with very high energy, but I was disappointed with the vocals and the arrangements used, and I have a hard time ranking a choir in first who isn't one of the strongest finalists vocally. That being said, Twinsburg has come a LONG way and definitely deserved praise for the performance they gave last night. Very well done!
Findlay was very impressive vocally. Definitely one of my favorite openers of the night. I have to agree, though, that the props in the end of the show, while cool, added a lot of extra noise, weren't entirely together, and took away from the rich vocals Findlay has. I'm excited to see this show grow though- I really think this could be a good year for Findlay.
Solon- I am a huge fan of dark shows, and was blown away at the beginning of the show. Unfortunately, I have to agree that I was a little disappointed to see the same feel emotionally throughout the entirety of the show. After awhile, I felt almost like I was watching the same song over and over. However, the vocals, band, and choreography were all very well polished, and I think you definitely deserved to be in the top 2 last night. I am blown away by the progress this group has made in the past two years.
Fairfield- What a great story. The vocals and choreography were not only polished, but appropriate to what you were saying. The show didn't pop in finals quite as much as I had hoped, and there were a few minor problems here and there- I honestly think that if this weren't the case, you could've won last night. I would have had you in at least second. Keep up the hard work- I look for you to have a very strong rest of the season.
Fairfield girls- vocally one of the strongest shows of the night for me. You all prove time and time again that you are 100% capable of competing with mixed groups, and you definitely deserved at least 5th last night, if not 4th. Very impressed!
Beavercreek- I would say your show was definitely the least polished of the finalists, but you still had some great moments. I always love seeing how much this group loves what they do. It really shows on stage. Keep polishing, because your show has a ton of potential and I look for you to be very successful in your coming competitions.
What a great representation of Ohio Show Choir last night. Fantastically run competition by a wonderful group of kids. Swingers, we love you.
Beavercreek-I like the concept of your show, but I don't think it flows as well together as some of the other groups you competed with tonight. You amazed me by showing such magnitude of improvement from your performance last weekend.
Findlay-I could tell you wanted to kick butt in finals. I LOVE your opener, I just wish you would have gotten away from the "classic", theatrical Findlay which I feel has been happening the past couple of years. I think it's awesome to see you guys stepping outside your comfort zone this year. What really killed it for me was the closer. The props you use create so much noise, I could hardly hear your singing.
Solon-I know I'm going to get some hate for this, but your show was one of my least favorites going into finals. There is hardly any contrast in your facials throughout your entire show. You always look like you want to kill me and, while it might seem to work for you, it gets very old about halfway through the opener. I also wish your choreography varied stylistically. Also, I think it's very strange how many times you turn WHILE singing. Other than that, I think you do very well with the show you were given.
Fairfield-Going into your performance, I figured my mind would explode and it did. You guys are very good at what you do. I know you now have a new level from which you can grow (and based on the past, I know you will)
Fairfield Girls-Holy crap! You guys had the biggest improvement from daytimes of all the finalists. You rocked the crap out of the second half and your Seven Bridges Road is jaw-dropping. I honestly thought you should have placed higher in finals than you did.
Twinsburg-Look at how far you've come since 2010. Everything you do looks perfect. You guys dance just as well as, if not better than, Clinton. I just wish that you had better vocals. I was sitting with the judges the entire day and after your finals performance, you got a standing ovation from the judges. You guys really deserved that Grand Champion!
I gotta say my favorite part of the night was being down in the pit screaming about Marysville! I'm glad they hosted last night, honestly, because that performance would have knocked EVERYONE down a peg! It's really cool to see a choir that's not worried about competition go a little off the rails once in a while and just get into it for the sake of the performance. A friend and I got hit with a jacket thrown into the pit, and getting winks from our room host during dance breaks was hysterical!
Awesome jobs to all the choirs who performed! It was a great showcase, and I can't wait for the next one!
Just returning home at 4AM. Shout out to Marysville for hosting a great competition. Our hosts were awesome! Despite breaking fire code too many times to count whilst cramming into the auditorium, I believe a great time was had by all. Swingers put on a hell of a show!!! Congrats to all groups.
Very interesting results, exactly why I love Ohio show choir. I'm seriously looking forward to some comprehensive thoughts and opinions that the SCC had on the different choirs and shows.
The final show was great tonight. All the groups I heard were fantastic! Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to see Beavercreek, who performed first. I saw all of the following groups though. I judged them using a score sheet created by myself. With 170 points total, 100 were allocated to music categories, 50 for visual, and 20 for show design. Since I didn't see Beavercreek, I added Marysville so I'd still have 6. Here's my results according to my humble opinion:
Best Music- Twinsburg
Best Visual- Twinsburg
Best Show Design- Findlay
Even though my scores ended up this way, I thought Findlay's show was the most exciting and enjoyable! All of the bands were great except when a few overpowered the vocals a few times. The choraliers have a very deep, dramatic show which was incredible. And Twisnburg sounded beautiful. Well done all!
Marysville Showcase 2013
