1) Totino. I'm so glad I waited until competition season to watch you guys for the first time. I loooved the Michael Jackson half of the opener. It added some really great contrast to the opener overall, plus it's one of my favorite songs. The guys' / girls' numbers were so entertaining. Um holy crap Sarah (girls' song soloist). I had chills during the entirety of your solo. I knew you could sing, but damn. Amazing. The girls definitely know how to show some attitude in that song. The guys choreo was super intricate but was danced so effortlessly. The ballad is such a great song, and it had some really dynamic choral moments that highlighted the great vocal sound you all produce. The a cappella part was beautiful, and I wish it would have been longer. I was never bored during the closer. It was fun seeing a group get into a character that wasn't just "aww ballad" or "watch me boogie." Good work Totino.
2) Wheaton. Wheatonwheatonwheaton. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Crisp, clean, and really well-tuned vocals and some awesome choreo. Plus it was Wizard of Oz. Not overly descriptive. Awesome. I can't say enough good things. I felt bad for anyone who didn't see your show yesterday.
3) Waconia. It was so fun seeing this year's show. I really was intrigued by the attitude of the opener, and I loved the lyrical approach to "Born this Way" later in the show. It balanced nicely with the high-energy choreo that you guys performed so well. Plus, it was really fun seeing friends from that group that I hadn't seen in a while. Good work!
I meant to write a shout-out to Terry Voss and his bowties, but didn't get a chance. Shoot. Maybe next time.
Though it was a 21 hour day with a lottttt of driving, I'm really glad I went. It's always fun seeing talented folks on stage, but it's even cooler when you know them and can see how much passion and feeling they put into their performances. It was really evident yesterday, and I hope that trend continues.
wowza! 5 hours of driving each way was so worth yesterday! i had so much fun. thank you milton for putting on such a beautiful, well organized competition. you're volunteers were so sweet. also thank you for keeping prices low in this economy, very appreciated.
wheaton. you are in my top 5 favorite shows of all time. major kudos on not only the show design but how much you believe in it, not every show choir could pull it off. so classy. i couldn't stop turning to margaux and saying omg. after prelims, i turned to her and said 'wheaton just won.' because it was just that incredible. such a high caliber of entertainment. the people in your group are incredible performers and i can tell how much fun you're having! i love that! i love feeling the joy in the room that's coming from the stage. your choreo is so wonderfully sharp but every individual performer is special and your vocals filled that gym and just made my heart swell. be very proud of the shows you put on yesterday. everyone needs to see your show! i'm sad i won't be able to see it again. i'm looking forward to seeing you sweep the season. oh! also! i met some wonderful WW parents yesterday, and they were so so so lovely! yay!
totino. those opener costumes! ah! so jealous. the dresses are gorgeous and the boys look so handsome. for prelims i sat in the back and although you were great there was something missing, and then in finals you found it. so great. april gave you some incredible choreo this year, i'm just so in love with it. you execute the attitude so wonderfully. i really enjoyed the body language song, so entertaining! and the 'talk to me' soloist is like, so so so so talented. holy crap girl! sing for the rest of your life, please. you're such wonderful human beings and i enjoy watching you. your show is very audience pleasing this year. just lovely. excited to see you in eau claire!
mundelein. ok can we just talk about how excited i was when i saw the nbc logo? i am a huge 30 rock/ parks and rec fan so i was bouncing off the walls. you're show was a wonderfully crafted journey. you can really tell that you guys love being on the stage and it makes me so happy to see that. it makes me love show choir so much. i'm very excited to see you excel and grow throughout the season.
onalaska. you're such a gorgeous group! and the nebula space back drop was awesome possum! unfortunately, i didn't see you in finals but i'm sure you did wonderfully. way to go. (:
janesville. wow guys! i don't know why but i have such a different image of you and the style of your shows. i watched you in finals and was blown away! you did such a wonderful job! i had you placing higher. your choreo was right on par and you should be very proud! awesome awesome awesome job.
waconia! omg guys, i am so so so so so so so proud of you. in prelims, i could feel the excitement to be on the stage again in front of the judges. it poured off the stage, it was so wonderful. you all know how i feel but your work ethic is fab, and i have crushes on all of you!
oh! i took like a thousand photos yesterday, i'll edit the link to them in here once i edit them. heh.
I'm sure I've said this before, but I just want to give Milton themselves props for making available quality video of the competition during and after the show. It allows those of us who can't attend a great window into what took place and gives people all over the country the ability to share in some fantastic show choir. If only all events were like this!
Thanks, I have always enjoyed that about our competition. The cool thing is that those videos are all shot and assembled by students of our multimedia class and the DVD sale profits go to the show choir and the multimedia program. I was telling the instructor yesterday that people on here are always talking about the live feed and the videos and he said that the show choir videos by far get the most views on RedHawkMedia. I am hoping the live feed is back next year!
As for the competition...it was a great day! It was probably the toughest finals at Milton in a long time and every group was really impressive.
I'm sure I've said this before, but I just want to give Milton themselves props for making available quality video of the competition during and after the show. It allows those of us who can't attend a great window into what took place and gives people all over the country the ability to share in some fantastic show choir. If only all events were like this!
Congratulations to Wheaton and Totino and all of the amazing show choirs that performed today from the Wisconsin Singers! I am so sad that I had to miss this competition because it was one I was definitely looking forward too. You all rock!
Did they give a separate Best Band award in both prelims and finals, or is this a correction?
They announced it, before they gave the best vocals and best choreo, that the award was given to an ineligible group? So Waconia recieved bb. But I'm not sure why wheaton was ineligible unless they have adults in their band that I didn't notice.
Milton Choralation Invitational 2012
