Grand Finale, which wrapped up its most successful competition in school history a few weeks ago, added one final feather to its cap recently when Rome High School’s Show Choir finished fifth in the final Southeastern Show Choir 1A Rankings.
The group had appeared in the poll a couple of times during the season and now finishes among the best show choirs in its division in the Southeast.
“I am extremely proud of this group. They have been a close-knit group all year long, and they have worked together as a real team, and I believe that is why they have had such a successful season,” Grand Finale Director Cody Goss says.
The group’s competition show “Whodunit”, a fun take on the classic board game Clue, wowed audiences and judges in competitions in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee this season, something Homeroom Show Choir, which complies regional and national rankings for high school show choirs, notes in the the final poll.
“Rome ends an interesting season by rounding out the top five Southern 1A/Small mixed groups on our rankings. Starting off, Rome arguably put together their best season ever: three divisional wins out of four competitions, including their first overall Grand Championship since 2023. Like Oxford, every single one of their competitions occurred in a different state - Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi in chronological order,” the group posted on its website late last week.
West Marion (Mississippi) finished atop the poll, followed by Oxford (Alabama), Pass Christian (Mississippi), Pisgah (Alabama), and Rome.
Rome began preparing for the season last summer and then spent the majority of the school year perfecting the show before competing in the first competition in early February.
“Competition shows require a lot of hard work and practice. Not only do they have to learn a lot of music and choreography, but they have to practice it and perfect it over a course of hundreds of hours,” Goss says. “To have their excellence recognized by expert judges from all over the country is so rewarding for them and for me as their director. To be recognized by the Homeroom Southern panel is another indicator of how special this year was for us.”
Rome’s resume speaks for itself. Grand Finale won its division and earned Grand Champion at the Peach State Invitational in Tift County. At the competition, the group won Best Overall Effect, Best Vocals, and Noah Beard took home Best Soloist in a show. Lathaen Day also won best soloist in the solo competition that ran concurrently with the show choir competition.
In Brandon, Mississippi, the group finished in second place in the Mixed Division Tier 4 category. The group just missed out on another first-place trophy by a couple of points.
Grand Finale won first place in their division and placed third overall at the Music City Show Choir Invitational in Nashville. Vander Jones won honors for best male soloist in a show as well. At the Diamond Classic in Albertville, Alabama, Grand Finale swept the Mixed Division Tier 3 category, earning Best Overall Effect, Best Choreography, and Best Vocals en route to finishing in first place.
“We are obviously thrilled with the success from this year, but at the same time, we want to build upon this season and use it as momentum to improve our students' artistic ability and musicianship to make our performances even more impactful to our audiences,” Goss says. “If you have a child coming up in Rome City Schools, I would encourage you to enroll them in a performing arts group. Whether it is show choir, concert choir, band, or theatre, we have some awesome work happening in our district, and I believe that the performing arts can be truly life-changing for our students.”