The A Cappella Blog operates from September-May of each calendar year. The site remains live during our ‘off-season,’ but little to no new material will be posted during those times.

Mission

The A Cappella Blog holds a three-part mission. The A Cappella Blog:

• Publicizes information about collegiate a cappella in order to foster an international community among fans and performers.
• Enhances collegiate a cappella’s accessibility to individuals lacking technical knowledge in music.
• Archives information and media of and related to collegiate a cappella for public consumption.

History

The A Cappella Blog was founded in January 2007. Since that time, the site has reviewed over 20 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competitions. In addition, the site has featured interviews with over 40 collegiate a cappella groups, as well as notable individuals in the a cappella community, including Ben Folds. The A Cappella Blog has also published guest posts by a cappella luminaries such as Mickey Rapkin, Deke Sharon, Amanda Newman and Bill Hare.

Leadership

Mike Chin, Content Manager
mikec@acappellablog.com

Mike Chin co-founded The A Cappella Blog in January 2007. He continues to share leadership responsibility for the site, overseeing columns, reviews and features as the content manager.

Mike grew passionate about collegiate a cappella during his own undergraduate years at Geneseo State. He conceived of The A Cappella Blog in partnership with co-founder Mike Scalise in spring 2006. Outside of The A Cappella Blog, Mike has worked in student affairs at Syracuse University and in gifted education at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently working toward a graduate degree in creative writing.

Mike won The Ambassador Apartments Scholarship for Excellence in Journalism, and earned placement in the Mary A Thomas and C. Agnes Rigney writing contests. He has published short fiction and poetry in journals including Stymie Magazine, The Broad River Review, The Floorboard Review, CaKe: A Journal of Poetry and Art and The New Sound. He devotes a portion of his free time to the Baltimore community, including volunteer projects such as the Writing Outside the Fence ex-offender writing workshop, The Remington Homework Club, and Puppets Enabling Active Community Engagement.

Mike Scalise, Production Manager
mikes@acappellablog.com

Mike Scalise co-founded The A Cappella Blog in January 2007. He continues to share leadership responsibility for the site, overseeing site design, utilities and functionality as the production manager.

Mike grew passionate about collegiate a cappella during his undergraduate years at Nazareth College, and conceived of The A Cappella Blog in partnership with co-founder Mike Chin in spring 2006. Outside of The A Cappella Blog, Mike has worked as an applications developer at an industrial supply distributor and as a computer analyst at Nazareth College. As a result of his professional achievements, he has presented at numerous conferences, including the Astra Schedule Users’ Conference, Technology @ Naz (T@N) Conference, and Datatel Users’ Group (DUG) Conference. He is currently working toward a graduate degree in management.

Mike was a recipient of the Small Business Council Scholarship and nominee for the Simon Early Leaders Award. His personal interests include weight training and travel.

Will Browar, Design Consultant and Photographer
willb@acappellablog.com
@ACBWill

Will has worked with The A Cappella Blog since 2009 as a design consultant and photographer. He helps manage the ACB brand and was heavily involved in projects including the 2012 redesign of the website, and the development of The ACB ICCA Bracket Contest.

While he has a self-professed "strange" taste in music, Will has been involved in several rock & roll bands since 1999 as a percussionist. He graduated in 2007 from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is currently a web designer and developer at an upstate NY advertising agency.

Will continues to take photos of a cappella performers, fans and enthusiasts at a cappella events and competitions. If you see him at your show, say "Cheese!"

Stephen Hutchings, Regional Coordinator
stephenh@acappellablog.com

Stephen is a senior music education major at the University of Georgia. He is the current music director and primary arranger of the UGA Accidentals.

Stephen first discovered collegiate a cappella from a fellow music education student during his sophomore year at UGA. He joined the co-ed group, With Someone Else's Money and spent two years in the group, and had the pleasure of recording with Ben Folds and being featured on the Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! album. Currently in his second year as Music Director, Stephen is trying to ride out his last days as an undergrad before entering, "gulp," the real world.

Andrea Aquino, Regional Coordinator
andreaa@acappellablog.com

Andrea, an alto in voice but a tenor at heart, was a founding member of UC Santa Cruz's Acquire in 2007. She directed Acquire during the 2009-2010 school year, taking the group to their first ICCA competition at the University of Oregon. Despite (or perhaps because of) the back-to-back 13-hour drives, using her rent money to fund the vans, and having to write her senior thesis in the same month, Andrea considers her ICCA experience with Acquire the most memorable event from her college career.

After earning her B.A. in English and French Literature from UCSC in June 2010, Andrea worked as the manager of a video game store. She currently works at a local bookshop. In her spare time, she participates at trivia nights in Santa Cruz's bar scene, plays Zelda and Civ, and bakes cinnamon rolls on her car's dashboard.