Great evening of competition and was a great time! Some clear questions with the judging in my opinion. MAGIC killed it in the finals and deserved the win but just do not understand how the order flipped around so much from the prelims just a couple hours before... Also, seems to me that when the small mixed get mixed in with the large mixed, they do not give them much of a chance. With that being said and the way the large mixed flipped the order around, why even have a 2nd phase to the competition?
Let's take up the conversation of rules and ethics later. Focus on the amazing groups in finals tonight. GE wishes all groups good luck, including our amazing friends from Dekalb and Manteno, but most importantly to my younger brother Ben in Manteno. Go get 'me kid!
Let's take up the conversation of rules and ethics later. Focus on the amazing groups in finals tonight. GE wishes all groups good luck, including our amazing friends from Dekalb and Manteno, but most importantly to my younger brother Ben in Manteno. Go get 'me kid!
Say a contest had a "student only" band requirement. From their vantage point, judges wouldn't necessarily know who on stage was a student and who wasn't. I know hundreds of years ago a group at Luers - who would have made finals - was disqualified because the director played a tambourine. The contest official felt terrible, but it was clearly against the rules.
Agreed, but if the competition director believes that a rule has been violated, he should present his case to the judges and let them be the final authority.
If the Southmont competition wants to retain any credibility, the director will have to address this publicly. What was the specific rule broken? What was Twinsburg found without a doubt to have done? Who brought the allegation to the director's attention?
Say a contest had a "student only" band requirement. From their vantage point, judges wouldn't necessarily know who on stage was a student and who wasn't. I know hundreds of years ago a group at Luers - who would have made finals - was disqualified because the director played a tambourine. The contest official felt terrible, but it was clearly against the rules.
Agreed you have to stick to rules, if not then what's the point of the rules? I think the problem in this situation was that correspondence between group and host approved something. Then that was thrown out after performance. At least that's what this sounds like.
The allegation of Twinsburg augmenting vocals with electronics is so unfounded...
So is using a synthesizer completely looked down upon now? Let's say a tiny school wants to have a song that is improved by a violin part, but their school doesn't have a orchestra. Is a synthesized violin any different than hiring a college student to play a violin? This similarly applies to any instrument. I thought show choir was about singing and dancing.... The more restrictions we put on choirs to fit into this tiny box, the less diversity and excitement we'll see. Sad to see this happened today. Some great choirs today, including Twinsburg! All choirs don't let this political stuff bring you down. Just keep doing what you do: singing and dancing and enjoying working hard!
Say a contest had a "student only" band requirement. From their vantage point, judges wouldn't necessarily know who on stage was a student and who wasn't. I know hundreds of years ago a group at Luers - who would have made finals - was disqualified because the director played a tambourine. The contest official felt terrible, but it was clearly against the rules.
Why do they bother to have judges if the competition director can dictate the results? It seems to me that a disqualification should require the unanimous consent of the judges.
Good luck to all groups in finals this evening. Some amazing groups competed today. To clarify before the rumors start... The director of Southmont's competition notified myself and Scott Hamler that there were allegations of us breaking a rule during our day show, and allegations that our electronics used in our band were being used to augment vocals. Upon being notified of this, Scott and I tried to clarify how we use our electronics, as we had already done prior to the competition through emails with the Southmont director, but we were informed the rule was being interpreted that we were in violation. We have never, and will never try to break rules at a competition, especially something as outrageous as augment vocals. We always just want a fair fight, and always make sure our use of electronics and live musicians are acceptable. Clearly this time, not all parties were using the same interpretation and understandings through correspondence.
We are proud of our traditions and the success we have worked extremely hard for. The students of Southmont were outstanding hosts and we thank them for their hospitality.
The world of music, entertainment, and education are changing faster than anyone can keep up with. I hope the show choir world embraces change and the unknown to further what we do for students, and not punish it.
Southmont Show Choir Invitational 2015
