Minnesota Choir Makes History at 2017 Show Choir Canada Championships

History was made on Saturday, April 8, 2017 during the 7th annual, highly anticipated and globally respected Show Choir Canada Championships as the international event's prestigious Grand Championship title was awarded for the first time to competitors outside of Canada, from the United States of America.

In the ultimate international show choir battle, the "Company of Singers" show choir from Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minnesota claimed the ultimate Grand Championship title, scoring higher than 2016 Show Choir Canada defending champions (the first to be crowned Grand Champions outside of Ontario) "G Major" from St. George's School of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec. With both top show choirs competing against one another in the same Non-Arts Large Ensemble division, "G Major" was awarded Best Show Design, while "Company of Singers" took Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Combo and the divisional title.

Inspired by the cultural phenomenon of "show choirs" combining song and dance choreography into performances, and made popular around the globe by the hit TV-show Glee, Show Choir Canada's championships, co-Founded by George Randolph (Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts) and Peter da Costa (da Costa Talent Management / Podium Concert Productions), have become an established annual highlight in Toronto's performing arts scene.

Originally conceived as a national Canadian competition in 2011, the Show Choir Canada Championships expanded in 2014 due to popular demand, to welcome international show choirs from around the world to compete against Canada's best young performers, and again in 2015 to allow for community-based choirs to compete. Since then, several choirs from outside of Canada have travelled to Toronto to perform alongside Canadian competitors from across the country.

"This year's Championships offered yet another thrilling competition with a diverse range of talented and creative performances. "Company of Singers'" historic win further establishes and cements Show Choir Canada as an international competition on the worldwide show choir stage," said George Randolph, Show Choir Canada Co-Founder.

Adds Show Choir Canada Co-Founder Peter da Costa, "While Canadian and American show choir presentation and design is quite different, having choirs present from different countries allows our performers cultural opportunities to interact, share experiences, inspire, and learn from one another. Each year, cross-choir friendships are formed, and it is truly special to see these young people support and cheer each other on."

The 2017 Show Choir Canada Championships featured a showdown of 13 of Canada's most impressive high-school and community based show choirs from Ontario and Quebec, in addition to Minnesota, USA's "Company of Singers." Competitors also included 4 new Show Choir Canada debuts (from Etobicoke, Mississauga, Montreal and Minnesota, USA), and the first-ever, pre-competitive group (Burlington), introduced for the 2017 event.

Milton Show Choir's "Gleam" from Milton, Ontario was awarded Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Show Design and first place in the Arts/Community division. "The Pitches" of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School (Wellington Catholic District School Board) from Guelph, Ontario took first place in the Non-Arts Small Ensemble division, along with Best Choreography and Best Show Design in the category. Within the same division, All Saints Catholic High School's (Ottawa Catholic District School Board) "Flash" from Kanata, Ontario was awarded Best Vocals.

In addition to the high-school championships, Show Choir Canada's Junior Championships returned for the 6th annual competition, where 5 junior-aged show choirs (grades 4-8) - the future of the performing arts - took to the stage. In an event that welcomed the debut performances of 3 first-time Show Choir Canada choirs (from Woodbridge, Alliston and Collingwood), newcomers "Major Treble" of Collingwood Glee Club from Collingwood, Ontario were crowned Junior Champions and awarded Best Vocals and Best Choreography. Best Show Design went to Essex and Hawthorne's (Toronto District School Board) "Double Treble" from Toronto, Ontario.

Both Show Choir Canada 2017 Championship events were hosted by the stars of the hit Disney Channel and The Family Channel TV show Backstage, Alyssa Trask (Carly Catto) and Devyn Nekoda (Vanessa Morita) and featured a special guest performance from recording artist and Backstage star Josh Bogert (Miles Lennox).

The Show Choir Canada events were judged by a professional adjudicating panel comprised of top industry experts from across North America, including Jeannie Wyse (Canada), Steve Lehman (Canada), Linda Southard (USA), and Kevin Chase (USA).

Full 2017 Show Choir Canada results can be found on the organization's website: www.ShowChoirCanada.com.

Show Choir Canada's mission is to play a vital role in the development and support of show choirs in Canada by creating opportunities, including live competition-format presentations, that inspire youth participants to not only work together through song and dance to achieve a common goal of excellence but also grown and develop as individuals while sharing in the creative process.

Since 2011, Show Choir Canada has given Canadian show choir students opportunities to perform in professional theatres, in front of enthusiastic audiences and expert adjudicators, with each competition featuring awards and prizes for top choirs and outstanding individual performers.

Show Choir Canada is presented by professionals in the performing arts industry; The Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, which trains Canada's Triple Threat talent, and da Costa Talent Management, which represents some of Canada's leading actors, dancers, singers, and world-class choreographers.

For more information visit www.showchoircanada.com or call 1-877-90GLEEK.

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