Event Reviews

Event Review: The 2013 ICCA Finals

On Saturday, April 20, Town Hall in New York, NY, played host to the 2013 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Finals. The event featured eight competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Champions The Cornell University Chordials
ICCA Wild Card Champions The Belmont University Beltones
ICCA Midwest Champions University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana No Comment
ICCA South Champions Florida State University Reverb
ICCA Great Lakes Champions The University of Michigan G-Men
ICCA International Wild Card Champions The University of Birmingham, UK Sons of Ptiches
ICCA West Champions The University of California Los Angeles Scattertones
ICCA Northeast Champions The Northeastern University Nor’easters

Emcees: Lo Barreiro, Hannah Juliano, and the Varsity Vocals Production Team

Event Review: The 2013 ICHSA Finals

On Friday, April 19, New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York, NY, played host to the International Championship of High School A Cappella Finals. The event featured eleven competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
Port Washington High School Limited Edition
Centerville High School Forte
Oregon Children’s Choir Synergy
The Northern Highlands Regional High School Highlands Voices
Oakland School for the Arts Vocal Rush
Salem High School WitchPitch?
Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School Vega
Steele and Clemens High School Mixed Company
Palm Harbor University After School Specials
Parkway North High School Powder Room
Madison High School Madison Avenue

Emcees: Lo Barreiro and Hannah Juliano

Photos from this show are available now on The A Cappella Blog Facebook page.

Event Review: VoiceFest 2013 in Wooster, OH

On Saturday, April 13, Wooster Jam at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster, OH, played host to VoiceFest. The event featured eight competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
Ohio State University Buck That!
University of Akron Rhythm & ‘Roos
Ohio Wesleyan University Pitch Black
Baldwin-Wallace University Mr. Sun’s Echo
College of Wooster Round of Monkeys
The Kent State University Kent Clarks
The Oberlin College Obertones
Case Western Reserve University Dhamakapella

Note: I served as one of the judges for this event, and so did not take nearly as comprehensive review-oriented notes as I ordinarily would, so this write-up is a bit abbreviated.

Event Review: ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinal at Rutgers University

On Saturday, March 30, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, played host to the 2013 ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinal. The event featured eight competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
University of Delaware Vocal Point
Penn State University Statesmen
Rider University ‘Til Further Notes
The College of New Jersey Trentones
University of Rochester After Hours
Cornell University Chordials
Fordham University Ramblers
Rochester Institute of Technology Eight Beat Measure

Host Group: Rutgers University Casual Harmony

Photos of the event are available now on our Facebook page.

Event Review: ICCA Midwest Semifinal at Washington University

On Saturday, March 30, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, played host to the 2013 ICCA Midwest Semifinal. The event featured eight competing groups. Before we get to the review, a quick summary:

The Competitors:
University of Wisconsin-Madison Fundamentally Sound
The Missouri State Beartones
University of Nebraska Rocktavo
University of Kansas Genuine Imitation
The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana Xtension Chords
University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana No Comment
The University of Nebraska Bathtub Dogs
Northwestern University Extreme Measures

Guest Group: University of Chicago Voices in Your Head

Host Group: The Washington University Stereotypes

Photos of the event are available now on our Facebook page.

Event Review: ICCA Northeast Semifinal at MIT

Irene Droney is a student at Simmons College in Boston, MA. She is an a cappella enthusiast and is the music director and business manager of The Sirens, the official a cappella group of Simmons College.

On Saturday March 23, The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Semifinal was held at MIT in Cambridge, MA. The competition featured 10 competing groups from three states across the Northeast region. Let me start off with a quick summary of the events.

The competing groups:

Event Review: ICCA Quarterfinal at University of Florida

Alexa Gedigian is a student at the University of Florida and Vice President of the all-female a cappella group: The Sedoctaves. This is her second review for The A Cappella Blog.
University of Florida held the Southern Quarterfinal for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in Gainesville for the second year in a row on January 26. This sold-out show was hosted by UF’s co-ed group No Southern Accent and featured eight groups.

The Competitors:
University of Miami’s BisCaydence
University of Florida’s No Southern Accent
University of Florida’s The Staff
University of Central Florida’s KeyHarmony
University of Central Florida’s Gemini Blvd.
Florida State University’s Reverb
Loyola University’s Belles
University of Central Florida’s So Noted

Guest Groups: University of Florida’s The Sedoctaves and Theater Strike Force

Event Review: ICCA Northeast Quarterfinal at Northeastern University

As a self-proclaimed “aca-addict” I have been in the audience for my fair share of ICCA rounds in my time as a college student in Boston. When you’ve been to a lot of these events, you sometimes go in with a sense of what is going to happen and which group is going to go home with the win. Walking to Northeastern University on Friday, February 15, for the second northeast quarterfinal round, I could not even guess. The list of competing groups was so strong, I knew we were in for an amazing night of a cappella music and some extremely tough competition.

Let me start with a quick summary of the event:

The Competitors:
The Northeastern University Downbeats
The Harvard University Callbacks
The Bates College Manic Optimists
The Northeastern University UniSons
Northeastern University Treble on Huntington
Northeastern University Distilled Harmony
The College of Saint Rose Golden Notes

Host Group: The Northeastern University’s Nor’easters

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