There is a non-competitive closed door sound check performance in the morning and the actual competition itself is a one-and-done performance. No finals.
Predictions:
Mixed:
GC: Carroll “Minstrel Magic”
1st Runner-up: Grosse Point South “Pointe Singers”
2nd Runner-up: Bonita Vista “The Music Machine”
3rd Runner-up: Uniondale “Rhythm of the Knight”
4th Runner-up: Huntington North “Varsity Singers”
Women’s:
GC: Grosse Point South “Tower Belles”
1st Runner-up: Carroll “Select Sound”
2nd Runner-up: Huntington North “Viking Volume”
For a "national finals" competition, so many nationally-renowned choirs aren't attending.. seems strange and anti-climatic. No disrespect at all to the groups competing here, as they all should be incredibly proud of their successes this season, but I wonder why so many nationally ranked and known groups choose not to compete in this circuit.
I’d say a good deal of this is in response to the recent increase of attendance in the Heart Of America events. They’re fairly popular right now, with groups such as Loveland, ATSC, Marysville, Ankeny Centennial, Johnston, etc. all choosing to attend one of their various locations. Typically groups will go on one “national” trip per year. So with multiple big name groups choosing a HOA competition as that trip, it’s understandable that the density and attendance of several FAME lineups have seen a decline. Nonetheless, I think this line-up is pretty wild in terms of predictability (which is very exciting), and can’t wait to see how it turns out.
It's complicated. In general while fans and community members want a "national championship"-type event, it isn't feasible given the current landscape and I don't think music educators care much one way or another. So I think fans just have to accept that. File it alongside "is show choir a sport?" and "show choir rankings" as popularly discussed topics that ultimately don't really matter.
In terms of FAME, they deserve credit for at least trying. It was a huge deal when this started in 2011. Some newer folks maybe weren't around for that, but it was a game changer and there were several years where it was wildly successful. Even then, and still now, there was the challenge of a choir program committing to two* FAME competitions (regional qualifier and finals). That's a pretty significant commitment and can be really constraining on how a director shapes their season. *Also to note attending two FAME comps isn't technically required anymore, but that change was primarily due to a lack of interest as opposed to a progressive change. Another challenge is that sometimes folks simply don't want to have a Chicago* (*Waukegan) trip every year and instead want to switch it up with Orlando, Nashville, Boston, Fairfield, etc. Back before the finals, FAME had the Show Choir Cup which rotated between their sites and that was basically deemed the big FAME event for the year. Branson 2005 and Chicago 2008 are notable years for the Cup. I'm somewhat surprised they haven't switched back to that model.
GC: Carroll (BV) (BB)
1RU: Grosse Pointe South
2RU: Bonita Vista
3RU: Uniondale (BC)
4RU: Huntington North
5RU: Jenks
6RU: Gretna
7RU: Colby
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GC: Tower Belles (Sweep)
1RU: Select Sound
2RU: Viking Volume
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What's really cool about this event is so many of these groups are evenly matched, and it'll be really cool to see them all go head to head.
Predictions now that the roster is in:
GC: Bonita Vista "The Music Machine (BV) (BC)
1RU: Carroll "Minstrel Magic" (BB)
2RU: Uniondale "Rhythm Of The Knight"
3RU: Grosse Pointe "Pointe Singers"
4RU: Huntington North "Varsity Singers"
5RU: Jenks "Trojanaires"
6RU: Gretna "Revolution"
7RU: Colby "The Coalition"
This could be WAY off. Honestly everyone here is so good, so who knows what's going to happen. Good luck to all competing.
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