Event Reviews

Event Review: The 2009 ICCA and ICHSA Finals

By Mike Chin on April 22, 2009 in Event Reviews

Mike Chin checking in here after the ICCA and ICHSA Finals in New York this weekend. The show took place in Alice Tully Hall at The Lincoln Center. Simply put, this was a top-to-bottom solid show. Each of the competitors seemed to “belong” at the finals level, and things were quite competitive all night long.

First off, I must recognize the ICCA and ICHSA production staff, and, in particular Amanda Newman, the executive director of Varsity Vocals. These tournaments get bigger and better each year, and this year’s finals show was a demonstration and culmination of all of the hard work that goes into organizing these events. On behalf of the a cappella community, thank you to Amanda and company for their fantastic efforts.

Second, I will note that MTV had a pronounced presence at this show, which I had mixed, but ultimately positive feelings on. I’ll get to that later in the review.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary of the show:

High School Competitors:
Cheyenne Mountain High School Crimson
Pioneer High School Soulfege
The A&M Consolidated High School Eighth Notes
Haddon Heights Baptist Regional School Vocal Forte

Collegiate Competitors:
Oxford University Out of the Blue
University of the Free State Marjolein
The Yale University Duke’s Men
Ithaca College Ithacappella
The Florida State University AcaBelles
The Missouri State University Beartones
Mt. San Antonio College Fermata Nowhere

OPEN THREAD: The ICCA South Semifinal

By Mike Chin on March 26, 2009 in Event Reviews

The A Cappella Blog, unfortunately, is not able to post a review of the ICCA South Semifinal. Our original reviewer needed to step back due to a personal issue.

We have heard, anecdotally, that this was not only a very good show, but that there was a great deal of dissent about the final results. Again, no one from The A Cappella Blog can speak to what happened, but we’re as interested as anyone in hearing what people thought.

Event Review: ICCA Midwest Semifinal at Northwestern University

By Mike Chin on March 18, 2009 in Event Reviews

Brian Schmidt is the director of Lewis University Harmonic Uprising. Nick Thompson is a long time a cappella fanatic and alumnus of Ohio State University Marion and InChant. Please note that the opinions expressed in this review are solely from the minds of the authors, and are in no way representative of the views of either of their current or former groups on the whole.

The official event results, in addition to Brian and Nick’s final picks for the evening are available at the end of the review.

Event Review: ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Rutgers University

By Mike Chin on March 12, 2009 in Event Reviews

The following review was written by Wayne Scheck and Alexandra Bancroft, both members of Rutgers University Deep Treble. Please note that the opinions expressed in this review are solely from the minds of the authors, and are in no way representative of the views of Deep Treble on the whole.

Wayne: I want to start off by saying I admittedly went into this quarterfinal without any real high expectations. Having only heard of one of the groups, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I have to say, I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the talent. There were the usual couple of groups that stood above the rest, but overall, the talent was there. I want to congratulate all of the groups for putting on a great show and making it a very enjoyable night.

Alexandra: The stage looked pretty sweet, colored with red, green and orange lights. There were 4 condensers, 2 solos, and 1 VP mic, for this show.

The hosts for the evening, Casual Harmony, walked on to the screams and cat calls of their fans. They sounded amazing. These boys have been through so much in the past year and I would just like to congratulate them on a great show last night. Their newest (self-titled) album is featured on BOCA 2009, Sing IV, and was nominated for 5 CARA awards. I’m so proud of them.

Wayne: came on to start out the show. Knowing Casual Harmony, I wasn’t surprised that they were a great host group. They started off the night with “The Sun” by Maroon 5. Although I wish the solo mic was louder because it was hard to hear the soloist at times, the song was still great. Casual Harmony started the night with a lot of energy and clearly got the crowd ready for an enjoyable night.

Event Review: ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Johns Hopkins University

By Mike Chin on February 26, 2009 in Event Reviews

The Mid-Atlantic region of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) had its second quarterfinal this Saturday, at Johns Hopkins University. I took in the show alongside University of Rochester Vocal Point alumna, and multi-time ICCA competitor Genevieve Chawluk, who was kind enough to write up a bit of commentary for the blog.

Before we get to that, a quick summary of the show:

Host group:
The Johns Hopkins University Octopedes

Competing groups:
The College of New Jersey Trentones
The Loyola College Belles
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Partial Credit
Rochester Institute of Technology Eight Beat Measure
The Johns Hopkins University AllNighters
The Lehigh University Melismatics
University of Delaware Vocal Point

Pictures from this show are available on our photos page.

And now, on to the commentary and full event review…

Event Review: ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal at Penn State

By Mike Chin on February 9, 2009 in Event Reviews

The Mid-Atlantic region of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) opened this Saturday, with a quarterfinal at Penn State. Alumni Hall in the Hetzel Union Building was the site for this late night show (starting at 10 p.m.). I had mixed feelings on the venue—it was aesthetically pleasing enough, but the lack of stadium-style seating wasn’t ideal for the viewing audience, and the folding chairs weren’t exactly comfortable heading into the second hour of performance. The ICCA season in the Mid-Atlantic was off to a strong start, though, with one of the better quarterfinals I’ve seen.

A quick summary of the show:

Host groups:
The Penn State Penharmonics
Penn State None of the Above (NOTA)

Competing groups:
Lehigh University A Whole Step Up
The Gettysburg College Four Scores
The University of Pittsburgh Pendulums
Ithaca College Ithacappella
The Lafayette College Chorduroys
Penn State Univesity Shades of Blue

Pictures from this show will be available shortly on our photos page.

And now, on to the full event review…

Event Review: ICCA South Quarterfinal at Elon University

By Jill Clark on January 21, 2009 in Event Reviews

The following review was written by Jill Clark, a member of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Sapphires. Please note that the opinions expressed in this review are solely from the mind of the author, and are in no way representative of the views of the UNC-G Sapphires as a whole.

Having attended the ICCA quarter-finals at Elon University for the past three years in a row, I have never seen such a collection of talented a cappella groups. I’ll begin with the break down of the results, then delving in to what I thought of each group.

First place: The University of North Carolina-Greensboro Spartones
Second place: Appalachian State University Another Level
Third place: The James Madison University BluesTones

Outstanding Soloist: Caitlin Donaghy from The New Dominions on (Unknown Song)
Outstanding Arrangement: Chris Juengil and Lindell Carter of The Spartones for TV Theme Medley
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Chris Maloney and Mike Alverto from Another Level
Outstanding Choreography: The Loreleis

Event Review: The 2008 ICCA and ICHSA Finals

By Mike Chin on April 22, 2008 in Event Reviews

Mike Chin checking in here after the ICCA and ICHSA Finals, which took place in Avery Fisher Hall at The Lincoln Center in New York City. A lot of folks in attendance, but the crowd seemed a little on the old side—very parent and alumni heavy, in my estimation. I was expecting to see more representation from NYU students, who would have a relatively short commute to come support The N’Harmonics, but it doesn’t seem like it was to be.

For this show, we’ll be going with a he said-he said style, with both my own commentary, and the words of ACB Production Manager Mike Scalise.

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