$10.00 for Single Session (Middle School Competition, High School Preliminary Competition, OR High School Finals Competition)
$8.00 – Senior citizens and students with ID
$15.00 for an All-Access Pass (good for the entire competition)
$12.00 – Senior citizens and students with ID
I would like to commend WWS on a fantastic competition. Being from the south I would have to say that the folks there displayed as much "Southern Hospitality" as one could expect to find north of the Mason-Dixon line. Also, Congratulations to all of the groups performing in this competition. With the sheer number of groups with GC & 1st RU's this year, I would have to say this was a much BETTER overall competition than Fairfield. Much more "competition" for all groups involved. When one looks at the histories of Burroughs and Clinton and how, IMO, just their presence at a competition overshadows everyone elses performances, this was a competition in which every choir that took the stage had a chance of winning GC. That is what every competition should be, instead of having two groups there competing for GC & 1RU and then relegating all others into the also-rans categories.
I would also like to say to the Albertville Centerstage! gang: your show was the most innovative and refreshing show I saw all year! (yes, I am biased). I love the "outside the box" approach and I believe most of your average show choir audience members truly enjoyed your show because it was "cutting-edge different"! It has left me saying "WOW" everytime I have seen it! Thanks for a Great Year!
My Prelims rankings
Waubonsie Valley
Ben Davis
Albertville
Carmel
Mt. Zion
EEE
Troy
Enterprise
Mundelein
West Des Moine Valley
Neenah
My Finals rankings
Waubonsie (BV)
Ben Davis
Carmel
Mt. Zion (BC)
Enterprise
EEE
Waubonsie- Unbelievable. You guys might just be the single best choir that I've seen all year. The show this year is very well designed and you guys execute it so well! "Black or White" was just marvelous! The ballad is my favorite song this year though. You guys have fantastic soloists, and that song is my single favorite MJ song. You guys had me about 1/4 of the way to crying (for anyone who's met me, that's quite an accomplishment). One of my favorite things about your finals performance was that no matter which school was watching, they were all cheering for you. I specifically remember watching the Ben Davis kids completely eating your finals performance up and loving every song. I think you guys have put together your best show that I can think of. Congrats on the GC!
Carmel- I'll be frank, the day performance did not go well. It looked like you guys simply weren't used to the stage, but there were still some things that did not go as perfect as some would expect from Carmel. The finals performance was SOOOO good. You guys sing like angels and have the best blend I've ever heard from a group! The choreography was 10X cleaner. The band was really loud in both day and night, and tended to overpower the singers quite often, especially in the closer. One other comment I'd like to make is that you guys are the nicest school I've ever seen. From director, to parents, to students, you guys are so incredibly genially nice!
Mt. Zion- Wow! I haven't seen a choir that can dance quite like you guys! I actually had you taking Best Choreography over Waubonsie. The show is very high energy and I'd like to know what your opener is called pwease??
Ben Davis- I love you guys! There was such heart and soul up on the stage when I saw you in prelims and finals! The choreography was tight, the show was neat, the vocals were superb! I just wish you guys had more people than the 30something I counted up there, because I think you guys could have REALLY given Waubonsie a run for their money if you had more people up on stage.
EEE- First off, I'd like to say that my boy JT is the man. Okay now on to your show. At the beginning I thought that you guys could do some damage, but as the show went on, I thought that the choreo was getting sloppier and sloppier. At the beginning of your show I had you guys vying for 4th place, but by the end I thought that it was just too sloppy. You guys sing well and have great energy, but I just wasn't so sure by the end if you guys would be higher than 6th
Enterprise- What an improvement! I talked to Mr. Baker after finals and told him how much better you guys were after your finals performance. I was not sure if you guys would be in finals after your day performance, as I did not think that you guys sang exceptionally well, and some of the choreography was somewhat messy. I'll give you credit, you guys tackle some hard stuff and handle it really well! After your finals performance I thought you guys had made such great strides to get better in between performances. Everything was much cleaner, and you guys sang about as good as prelims.
What a fun weekend. Staying at the school waiting for Jofo until 2:00 am = not fun
That was one incredible evening, seriously.
I probably would have paid twice what I did to see that level of talent again live.
The problem is, with 7 amazing choirs and no program, I'm having trouble remembering anything about anybody's shows... but I'll give it a try anyway.
Carmel - You guys definitely lived up to your reputation last night. Your show, and I mean SHOW, was stunning both vocally and visually. You set a hard precedent for everyone else to follow. (And for the non-curious, my dad had you in first.)
Enterprise - thank you for coming up from down south and showing us how it's done! The energy and passion on that stage was vibrant throughout the entire set.
Ben Davis - you guys were really, really good. April and Jarad gave you really nice stuff, and that ballad soloist was pretty amazing, even when her mic went out. you guys had so much fun on stage! (Also, your support for WV was incredibly nice to see.)
Waubonsie Valley - even with a show far more "in the box" than past years, you simply dominated chorally and choreographcally. your first two numbers turned out to be my favorites for the night. great job.
Mt. Zion - absolutely flawless show technically, and i'm pretty sure I loved it, but the problem is I was a bit distracted by other things during your performance. Can't wait to get that DVD...
Eisenhower - for such a small group, how are you guys so good?! you were one of the cleanest choirs there, and you could feel the intensity during the first half of the show. second half was just plain fun, and I really enjoyed the closer medley.
Wheaton Warrenville - about half of the reason I came was to see your set live, and I was hoping you wouldn't be so tired after the long day. Obviously, you came through, as it was total amazingness to watch. Thank you so much! The Alabanza chant and Fame have been stuck in my head the whole day.
Biggest thing I noticed was ballads. Every single choir yesterday night had an amazing ballad, both in terms of choral sound and soloists. It was blissful.
I had it just about right. originally put Mt. Zion ahead of Carmel, but reversed it right before awards. It felt awkward giving Ben Davis 4th, really, and I really don't even think Enterprise or Eisenhower should have felt bad about getting 5th or 6th. Great job to everyone.
Thank you to WWS for a great competition (although it was inconvenient to get pointed to 3 different bathrooms by 3 different people)! It was nice to finally meet some people I've talked to on here (even if they were a bit annoyed by me).
Prelims was a bit under-whelming in my opinion... for being so late in the season, some groups were just not prepared for the intenseness of the competition, which showed on stage.
My prelims predictions were as follows-
1st- Waubonsie Valley
2nd- Albertville
3rd- Ben Davis
4th- Mt. Zion
5th- Carmel
6th- Eisenhower
7th- Enterprise
8th- John Hersey
9th- Troy
10th- Mundelein
11th- Neenah
Albertville was strong vocally, had an interesting show, but their choreography lagged a bit in the middle- which is probably why they didn't make finals. The girls feature was the weakest part of the show and I feel without it, they may have made finals. The 6 finalists had a solid package presented, and they were rewarded for that.
In finals, every group stepped it up exponentially. Carmel showed the most improvement, followed by Enterprise.
After finals, I had-
GC- Waubonsie Valley (sweep)
1st RU- Carmel
2nd RU- Ben Davis
3rd RU- Mt. Zion
4th RU- Eisenhower
5th RU- Enterprise
Waubonsie Valley was in a world of their own all day. Their finals performance was just incredible. I'd love to see how they'd fair against groups like Totino Grace, Clinton, and John Burroughs. In years past, they usually are loved for one or two very strong songs... but this year was the first year I can honestly say that the entire show was just extremely lovable.
Like I said, Carmel stepped it up for finals. I thoroughly detested their prelims performance. Sloppy choreo, lack of energy, and a band that overplayed. In finals- their choreography was crisp and clean, their energy was palpable, and their band STILL overplayed- but less.
Ben Davis was a JOY to watch both prelims and finals. What an amazing group of students. Their vocals are just terrific for the amount of kids on that stage. Their choreography was VERY clean and they have a killer band. The show was so fun. The ballad is soooo gorgeous. Congrats!
Mt. Zion and Eisenhower showed great strides from prelims. Mt. Zion was so much more powerful vocally and Eisenhower had loads more energy.
Wheaton's exhibition performance was SO much fun. It was like a rock concert. The ten of us literally stood in the bleachers for their first two songs, sat down for the ballad, then stood for the rest of the show. We were the only ones doing so too haha... it was a show choir geeks dream.
It was a fantastic day spending it with some of my best friends.
Best solo in a show=waubonsie valley their first soloist at the beginning
solo competition=Carmel ambassadors=A. Dauby
also they didn't announce this but Carmel accents got best vocals and visuals.. I wish more ppl had gotten up early and seen them they're crazzy good (btw ik they got visuals and vocals cuz some guy delivered the trophies as we were walking out to our bus saying he was sooo embarassed he forgot to announce them)...
And btw Carmel <3 waubonsie you guys were all super cool
I'd be willing to bet that their vocal scores were closely behind Waubonsie Valley.
I couldn't agree less with this statement. I'm not bashing Mt. Zion in any way, they were fantastic in finals... but Waubonsie Valley AND Carmel's vocals were far superior over any of the groups that competed today. ALBERTVILLE had great vocals as well. I do NOT think vocal scores were close at all. Just my opinion though.
I typed out a bunch of stuff, but my log-in timed out and I lost it all. Basically I felt the finalist rankings were all fair and accurate.
The specific things I wanted to mention:
Waubonsie Valley deserved the grand champion award. They are true professionals that take control of the stage and look like they have been doing it for years.
Ben Davis had a great show and I'm glad to see they aren't Columbia City 2.0 anymore. I have no idea what happened starting with the Michael Jackson numbers, the vocals completely fell apart and never recovered. I thought the soloists were off, but I don't know what happened. The visuals were outstanding, the choreography was very unique and fun to watch.
Enterprise's guy's costumes, I don't know what to say. White polos, popped collar, purple jacket and denim jeans. I hate to point out negative things, but I have no idea what the story behind that is.
Mt. Zion put on a stellar show. The ballad was one of the best I've heard in a long time. I'd be willing to bet that their vocal scores were closely behind Waubonsie Valley.
Overall, the rankings were what I predicted prior to the awards being announced. Great job to all groups, and to Wheaton-Warrenville for putting on a great contest.
Really a beautifully run competition. Great hosts and facilities, and the Wheaton folks REALLY went out of their way to make everybody feel welcome and special. Seems like a school corporation that truly supports the arts in the way I wish every school corporation in America would. Classics show is an absolute joy and celebration to watch!
Major thanks to John Burlace, and the hundreds of folks that teamed up to make a great day for the participants. INCREDIBLY brutal competition that featured an embarassment of riches in terms of the wonderful groups on stage, and made for a fantastic day and finals. By the way, to Waubonsie,.........WOW!!! Well-earned championship by a gifted group of performers.
Nice to visit with some folks today. Mike Esser, Andrew Drinkall, Hersel Cremeans,......and Adam! Great to finally get a chance to say more than a couple words in passing to you!
Great day and so happy I was at my daughter's final competition! God Bless, Damon Brown
In my opinion, I feel like EEE got totally shafted. I feel that they deserved at least 1st runner-up! Their energy was excellent and they worked it! Well at least WV got the place they should of
Congratulations to Waubonsie Valley and all the other finalists! I hate that I didn't get to make it to this epic competition, but I'm sure my Albertville folks had a great time. I know they've had a blast seeing the sights and shows in Chicago.
Best Vocals: Waubonsie Valley
Best Visuals: Waubonsie Valley
Grand Champion: Waubonsie Valley
1st Runner-up: Carmel
2nd Runner-up: Mt. Zion
3rd Runner-up: Ben Davis
4th Runner-up: Eisenhower
5th Runner-up: Enterprise
Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic 2010
