Center Grove Sound System performs onstage during a past competition. The choir is one of two that are heading to nationals. Submitted by Jennifer Dice
Center Grove’s Debtones and Sound System Show Choirs are heading to the Grand Ole Opry for the Show Choir Nationals 2024 next weekend.
Center Grove will have two show choirs out of 12 mixed groups and six treble groups performing in the competition. The choirs have momentum, and community predictions on the show choir event’s website predict the two choirs could win it all.
The experience will be a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for students to perform on an iconic stage, said Jennifer Dice, Sound System director.
“When we are prepping to come to stage, or even if the students have to use the restroom, they get to walk down the hallway and see all the autographed posters and pictures of all of the other people who have performed in that venue,” Dice said. “It’s a pretty surreal experience for them. The acoustics, the lighting, everything is top notch.”
Each group will present a set of five songs, intentionally created with variety in mind, Dice said. The students see the show as one big piece of art and get excited to show the audience their performances, she said.
“It’s not so much about individual songs for them, it is that they want to, they are excited and motivated to show and display what their hard work has created over the course of nine weeks,” Dice said.
The end of the season and the national competition is a “culmination” of the student’s work they’ve done throughout the year. Center Grove show choirs have competed in several national competitions throughout the years and won several Grand Champion titles and multiple first runner-up placements.
This is the fourth time that the show choir will head to this nationals competition since COVID, though the current group has performed in Heart of America competitions.
Every practice and competition is a small step toward preparing for nationals. With each competition, judges give feedback on performances and help the show choir craft a show to be “as good as it can be at the end of the season,” Dice said.
The students are extremely motivated, taking each comment from the judges and applying it to their performance.
For the three directors, it takes planning and arranging numbers behind the scenes. Some schools will hire outside help with arranging, costumes and more, but the directors at Center Grove prefer to do it themselves. This helps them showcase their student’s strengths, Dice said. They are already busy planning and prepping for next year’s shows.
Students begin practicing in the summer, learning choreography and music, with things beginning to pick up around their fall and Christmas shows. Once the Christmas show is over, the choirs hit the ground running, Dice said. The choirs even go so far as running for practice, because singing and dancing requires cardiovascular strength, she said.
The students always have their sights on the nationals performance, Dice said.
“It is something that they are willing to work for,” Dice said. “… Every contest that we go to is a benchmark for them and where they’re at and how they’ve grown and what they can do to improve. Nationals is definitely the culmination of the year and their work.”
Editor’s note: Additional information was added due to an amendment from Center Grove choirs.
