On March 7th, High School show choirs from all around the region traveled to Tift County High School to compete in the 8th annual Peach State show choir competition. While singing harmonies and difficult vocal parts, students are expected to perform rigorous choreography. As an additional incentive to compete, Peachstate offers solo competition awards for individual students. There are also categories for best visuals, best vocals, best overall effect, and then Peach’s choice.
Peach State Committee Member, Austin Moore, helped plan the event and has formerly worked on judging the competition. Seeing the event from the planning perspective, Moore testified to “a year-long planning process”. We’ve been talking about it since we finished the last one, and we’ll start planning the next one.” Show choir competitions are a regular occurrence throughout the season, and as the Tifton choirs go compete, the committee is taking notes on what works at competitions and what doesn’t.
As Moore points out, “If you’re thoughtful about it and keep focused on just trying to make sure everyone has as orderly of an experience as you can, we have to make sure that the performers have everything they need, that the scoring has done well and it’s distributed in a timely matter. And beyond that, it’s just hospitality. And so, who does southern hospitality better than those of us here in Tifton?”
Peachstate definitely would not be as enjoyable of an experience without the community of Tifton’s support behind it, alongside the cordial mindset of Tifton’s choirs. As Senior Dance Captain Hailey King said, “I think we here in Tifton have such a high standard of wanting to genuinely help people and be nice to others, so everyone remembers this as the friendly, fun competition. We’d like to keep it that way!”
There is a solo competition held alongside the choir competitions, and the winner this year is Carter Lasky from Appling County. On winning, he says “It was so great, I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t know why I was so nervous, but playing piano definitely helped with that.” The solo competition winner last year was in attendance as well, Caroline Grace Hardy, and she described the experience as “almost like a dopamine hit. It makes you feel very good about yourself because you know you’ve achieved something.”
The small mixed division winner is the Oxford High School Sound Show Choir, directed by Ms. Holly Luke. Ms. Luke describes Peachstate as enjoyable mostly because of “the people that help run the competition, the helpers and the home rings”. The greeters at the door make it feel at home. Luke says, “All the Tift County students and family members that help with the competition make it so worthwhile!”
Solo competition judge Jake Alley summed it up well, citing Peachstate as a “tradition in Tift County for show choirs, and a part of the tradition in Tift County.” Happening the same weekend as Rhythm and Ribs, Peachstate usually draws a crowd, and seeing the talent on display is rewarding for any community member.