Thanks to a friend getting tickets for a dinner/drinks event which included tickets to McAuley High Schools Friendship Concert, I was finally able to get out and check one of the World Choir Games events out.
A local Cincinnati Bollywood dance troupe started out the night.
I loved that they added a dance element to this location. Dance groups are not an actual part of the competition, but in the spirit of the games, they do occasionally have some local young peoples groups perform at their Friendship Concerts, because as the name states, that’s really what its about. The Friendship Concerts are free to the public (though in cases like this where it’s indoors, seating and tickets are limited, so you still need to get them ahead of time) and they include a different grouping of choirs, as you’ll see below.
The Erie, Pennsylvania Young Peoples Chorus
These are not the competition part of the games, but a way to practice, or get out there, and just have fun. Erie, had not had their competition as of Sunday night when they performed, and I wish them luck for when they do. They had a combined mens, womens, and mixed chorus for the games. Their selections were fun and the group had fun with them.
The lone international choir of the night from Columbia.
Thankfully, there was also an international group thrown in. This group was very entertaining. From the sounds of it not many of them spoke English as one of the group, and not the director was the one introducing the songs, and they were done in Spanish. A lot of their songs were rhythm based, including one written by their director!
McAuley/LaSalle High School Show Choir doing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
The last group to perform, and what I assume led to the crazy crowd that spilled out into the cafeteria, was the McAuley/LaSalle Show choir. For those not hip to Cincinnati Schools, McAuley, is an all girls school and likewise, LaSalle is an all boys school. I think its awesome that the schools can team up for things such as a show choir. And another bonus for them, is that show choirs is a new category this year for the games. Now that may have stemmed from an influx of wanting to participate, or low numbers, but part of me thinks that Glee has something to do with all of this… But thats just speculation.
Being an ex-show choir performer, I though they did a bang up job! They had creative dance moves, and not just your run of the mill box step and jazz hands, but they were actually fully choreographed. Including ukelele’s during Somewhere Over the Rainbow. They had a good selection of fun upbeat music that got people at least head bobbing.
Seriously, if you get the chance check out a concert. most only go an hour or two. The Friendship Concerts again are totally free, and can be found anywhere, even Dayton! I’ve seen a few in Fairfield, Loveland, Norther Kentucky, so there’s not excuse about it being too far away or not wanting to go downtown. Also come check out the Parade tonight at 6pm from Duke to Fountain Square and stick around for a Nations Party afterwards. You never know what might happen, as attributed to this article on the Choir Games blog. 
) Trust me, I went and saw The Wizard of Oz at 20 Century theater in Oakley thanks to 
My whole family took their turns on it. And I must say, this may not be the prettiest looking one out there. It has definately seen better days, but man, it has Thee most Gorgeous sound to it! Just wow. 
