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Choirs set to sing
Published February 2, 2010
Students from Albertville Middle and High schools are busy this week preparing for the first-ever Diamond Classic Invitational show choir competition.
The event, planned for Friday night and all day Saturday, will pit 29 choirs from four states against each other. For the first time, Albertville will play host to a competition, in their newly completed Fine Arts Center.
“The Albertville choirs will perform, but as the host school, they won’t compete,” said event coordinator Kim Wilabay. “They will be working! They have many assignments the day of the competition, but the most coveted is to be the hosts of the guest choirs.”
Wilabay said students acting as hosts are able to choose which choir to host, and are responsible for getting the choir to warm-up rooms on time and are preparing posters and decorations for their choir’s “homeroom.”
For LeAnna Fleming and Warren Stewart, being part of the host school is an honor.
“Show choir is my passion and we are one big family,” she said. “We’ve gotten a good reputation from where we have gone to compete, but most of the opposing choirs have never been here.”
Stewart is looking forward to other choirs seeing what Albertville has to offer.
“We get to welcome them to town,” he said. “That is going to be exciting.”
Choirs, parents and supporters have filled the Microtel and Jamison Inns in Albertville, Hampton Inn in Guntersville and the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Gadsden.
Independent judges from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Enterprise will arrive Friday to judge the two-day event. Organizers are expecting up to 4,000 people to attend the event over the two days.
“With eight choirs coming from the Birmingham area we expect a huge flow of traffic,” Wilabay said. “We also expect a large group of supporters from Opelika and Auburn.
“Any types of welcome signs the local businesses might want to put up would be appreciated.”
Choir member Phillip Estes, a senior of Albertville High School, designed a logo used on shirts and directional signs slated to be set up around town. He also produced a campus map published in the program.
National Junior Honor Society members, many of whom are also members of the Middle School VocalPoint choir, have taken time to clean their school – inside and out – in preparation for the competition.
“The choir kids are exceptional in every way and are just excited to be able to show the visiting choirs a fabulous time and true ‘Southern hospitality,’” Wilabay said.
The Diamond Classic will also be a chance for Albertville students and organizers to change how the competitions are scored, organized and run.
For the first time, iPods will be used to record performances and judging comments. Traditionally, performers receive a cassette containing judges’ comments. Utilizing iPods, the groups should receive their feedback faster and in a higher quality format.
“Albertville City School has a positive push on for technology,” said Natasha Tidmore, CenterStage! co-director. “We want that to be remembered long after the event is over.”
Organizers are also hoping to set this event apart from others through other firsts: a dedicated seamstress on site for costume “emergencies” and mishaps; congratulatory snack carts issued to each of the finalists; and the cutting edge technology available at the Fine Arts Center.
“We want to make this the competition that everyone will want to put on their next year’s schedule the minute they leave,” Wilabay said.
At the end of the event, trophies will be given to the grand champion and the first and second runners up. Soloists and the best soloist in a group will win an iPod loaded with their winning performance recording.
Solo contests and middle school choir competitions will take place Friday night. Competitions begin Saturday morning at 8 a.m. with the Spain Park Show Choir. Finalists will perform beginning at 8:10 p.m. Saturday, with the winners awarded at 11 p.m. CenterStage! will perform an exhibition show as the final act of the evening at 10:40 p.m.
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