Maybe it's time for an invitational where 5 or 6 states each send their three best choirs. The choirs would compete as individuals and for their state! Fame Chicago 2009?
Maybe it's time for an invitational where 5 or 6 states each send their three best choirs. The choirs would compete as individuals and for their state! Fame Chicago 2009?
Never gonna happen. There are certain choreographers who never want their best groups to compete against one another and there are a few conflicts on this list.
I think it would be a blast, but I would be a nervous wreck going up against all of those groups at one competition. " border="0" alt="blink.gif" />
Maybe it's time for an invitational where 5 or 6 states each send their three best choirs. The choirs would compete as individuals and for their state! Fame Chicago 2009?
Maybe it's time for an invitational where 5 or 6 states each send their three best choirs. The choirs would compete as individuals and for their state! Fame Chicago 2009?
I'm going to break ranks with my Cali people on the subject of depth: Indiana, population roughly 6 million, has at least a couple dozen show choirs that would be considered better than average. California, population roughly 34 million (or Southern California, population roughly 20 million) has maybe a dozen. Indianapolis, population roughly 2 million (metro) has the 6 choirs mentioned previously, and if those 6 choirs went up against the top 6 from California (population noted), it's my guess that the overall results would be close, and mixed. That's only Indianapolis.
A previous poster said California was about "30 years behind." If by that he meant we still don't have the level of involvement, per high school, in show choir that the Midwest has, he's absolutely correct.
The Midwest (in this case meaning only Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois) probably could field 100 of the 150 best show choirs in the country. California could probably not muster a dozen. However, it is true that two Cali choirs have a legitimate claim to being in the top 5 nationwide, and four or five could possibly be ranked in the top 30. Thus, California can claim "parity". That is to say, our top 10% can match with the Midwest's top 10%, and our top 50% can hang with their top 50% in terms of skill level, but in terms of sheer NUMBERS, there are truly many more excellent choirs in the Midwest - even in Indiana alone- than there are in California. In my opinion.
I'm proud of California's accomplishments in the world of show choir, especially this year. We've contributed to the growth of this delightful medium and made our presence known in the competitive events. However, we should remember that the Midwest was the cradle of show choir (unless you believe Rollie Maxson from Arcadia, who claims to have invented it) and is still the place to find the heaviest saturation of show choir in the high school culture. We may be the Luke Skywalker, but they're the Obe-wan!
Cali, let's be proud of ourselves but without the hubris. The Midwest tends to give us the respect we deserve as long as we're mindful that they deserve plenty as well.
Wow, I just went into total literary labor and had a baby on y'all. Sorry for the long post.
I've seen good and bad all-student combos just like I've seen good and bad "professional" combos; it's really all about the director in my opinion. The show choir combo is a pretty unique ensemble, and there are specific nuances that transform what would be average instrumental accompaniment into an an amazing show choir combo. If it's going to be good, it's going to be good.
Anyway, I think my point was supposed to be that I don't think that it really matters who is playing in the combo. Saying that choirs who can afford to use "professional" combo members have an unfair advantage is kind of like saying that choirs who can afford to hire professional choreographers and good arrangers have an unfair advantage over choirs who use stock arrangements and the local dance studio teacher. It's kind of like saying that choirs who have more natural talent or a bigger budget (or even a better director) have an unfair advantage. There is no way to control these individual situations or to quantify them on a scoresheet. It's up to the director and the students to make the best out of whatever situation they have been given.
After looking at the scores again, I can't really tell that Burroughs' combo score was exceptionally imperative to them winning, but then again, I don't know what the hell some of these numbers mean. " border="0" alt="wacko.gif" />
I heard rumors that there were some states where you had to have an all high school student band, but those were never confirmed. Anyone know of any?
If there were competitions that had rules like that, we probably would just not go. I think I could field a pretty awesome student band (with coaching), but most of those students are IN Powerhouse and would rather sing and dance in this case.
When you start a competition Wocctocs, you can make whatever rules you want! Now that I actually run a competition, I find that I am compelled to structure the rules in order to help everyone have their best show possible. It is something that FAME is actually very good at.
That is the rule in Iowa. You're allowed to have one director on the primary keyboard/piano and anybody else in the band has to be a student of the participating high school. It's not a rule made by the individual competitions, but rather an edict from the state music association.
We are very lucky at Urbandale that we have a very strong band program and we have enthusiastic and very talented musicians who want to be a part of our backup combos. We round out our backup band with students who sing/dance in our prep group that play in the combo of our varsity and vice versa.
I heard rumors that there were some states where you had to have an all high school student band, but those were never confirmed. Anyone know of any?
i dont think there are any, but ik personally that CP has had an all student band for quite some time now..in my opinion thats the best way to go bc when the choir wins, its also fun for the students who are in the band to share the experience...and thats what show choir is all about...FUN...right? lol
FAME Chicago 2008
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" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> (at least I still <3 you!) 
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