4th Avenue Jazz Company wrapped up their season with a final competition in El Paso, Illinois. After a last minute change from from the previous years final competition in Hastings Minnesota to this year’s in El Paso, the group went out with a bang, placing higher than expected.

“There were lots of groups who competed at nationals and many who did very well last year. There were 11 groups in our division including unisex and varsity groups. Some of the groups were from Chicago, which is the birthplace of show choir.” 4th Avenue member, Emily Bywater ’17 said.

Despite being an out of state group and not having the name recognition many of the other teams had, they made it to finals placing sixth overall with combo placing second to Mount Zion.

While Bywater feels that 4th Avenue is very tight-knit group, once the curtain comes up and the lights shine down on the stage, all that matters is the show.

“The atmosphere is very competitive between other show choirs; however, there was a lot of good sportsmanship at El Paso,” Bywater ‘17 said. “Within our group, we try to bond like a show choir family.”

This season, the group was more committed and focused more on technique, such as cleaning up choreography and working on vocal dynamics.

“I really loved our show this year; we were a lot more committed this year which made it so much fun to perform. We had great group chemistry and got along well which made the show even more enjoyable,” 4th Avenue member, Autumn Moen ‘16, said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better show to end my 4th Avenue career.”