This was a great competition, as it was my last for the 2016-17 season. I'm proud of all groups who have worked hard to get where they are now. Beavercreek show choirs were extremely excited for everyone's wins. Thanks to everyone who made everything in the competition season outstanding. It truly was a great season.
This was a pretty fun one to attend. Few random thoughts.
I know the credibility of the judging panel has been questioned on Twitter or in small conversations here and there. Perhaps a choir you're associated with or the one you were rooting for didn't receive the placement you wanted, but by and large the final results at Wapak were consistent with the results throughout this entire season which included a ton of other judge's expert opinions. It's all subjective so you can debate it until the end of time, but it is what it is. I will say I admire how some Iowa competitions amass a 7-10 person judging panel for finals - I think that's so very cool. That's not quite the norm in Ohio, but at least this judging panel had 3 well-known show choir professionals who either have music degrees and/or established experience in the show choir industry. That's certainly more than you can say for some judging panels. So I do think it's totally human to acknowledge the disappointment of a choir's placement, but it is unsportsmanlike to blame judges. If you had a performance where you did your very best and you were proud of it, then that should be enough. I have noticed a lot of tweets from Stephen Todd and Steph Hyatt specific to Mitchell Friend de Coup that have really captured the essence of a performance vs. placement with great affirmations and lots of positivity. That's mostly because I follow and fangirl over Mitchell, but I think it's important for Ohio folks to consider as it seems folks have reacted negatively to both recent Ohio comps judging panels. So I don't know, follow them on Twitter because I think they set a really solid example.
Anyways, I stopped by for finals. If folks were annoyed about anything, I expected it to be that Music & More was running behind schedule. It wasn't quite as efficient of a competition as it has been in the past, but I do understand there were some technical issues with risers and curtains. As for the performances themselves, Fairfield was spectacular and I've talked enough about their show this season. Though I will add, the Fairfield girls did a fantastic job maintaining their composure during the curtain malfunction and very long awkward pause. Beavercreek was the solid #2 I thought. I've enjoyed their show a lot this year. Amazing ballad and their closer had so much intensity. It was my first time seeing Piqua, Marion Harding, and Hamilton live this season. I thought Piqua had a very Piqua-like show and I definitely enjoyed the first half and thought the show was refreshing in the sense that it was short and didn't drag at all. I didn't care much for Marion Harding or Hamilton's themes, but you can't please everyone and the material the kids were given was performed very very well and the shows were clean as you'd expect for April. Altogether, all of the performances were solid and as I said above I think the results were pretty predictable. Lastly, Wapak's host performance was great! I saw it at Walsh Jesuit earlier this season and the growth from then was obvious. Fantastic soloists, creative visuals, overall I liked the show.
And now a really solid season for Ohio comes to a close. I'm looking forward to Ohio 2018 hopefully with a little less Crazy=Genius, but still some really creative and engaging shows.
Best Choreography- Fairfield
Best Vocals- Fairfield
Best Costumes- Beavercreek
Best Crew- Beavercreek
Best Female Soloist- Piqua
Best Male Soloist- Marion Harding (Jace Withrow)
Best Show Concept- Fairfield
People's Choice- Allen East
GC: Fairfield (Sweep)
1RU: Beavercreek
2RU: Piqua
3RU: Marion Harding
4RU: Hamilton
*I think 2RU-4RU is a total toss up. Hamilton has been one of the most improved groups out there this season. Piqua's sound this year is enormous and so full. Marion has amazing vocal moments in their show, especially that ballad! Haven't seen Beavercreek live this year yet!
And Fairfield is probably the best they have ever been ever, their show this year is incredible and absolutely amazing to watch live.
So did everything on the schedule after the lunch break basically get pushed back an hour with the addition of these groups? As in, Perrysburg now performing at 2:30 pm and Teays at 3:00 pm, etc.? Are finals still scheduled for 6:30 pm?
Jacob Coy Guys & Dolls:
Ankeney Connection: