THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OF COLLEGIATE
A CAPPELLA
DEAR FRIENDS,
Welcome to Varsity Vocals’ 26th season! Our enthusiasm for the art of a cappella is greater than ever after more than a quarter century of presenting the best student groups on stage and in the studio.
Our tournaments have grown from a handful of events to the massive showcase they are today, this year featuring more than 578 groups and 8,772 singers at 77 events across North America and the United Kingdom.
Our original tournament inspired the hit movie "Pitch Perfect", based on the nonfiction book documenting the true story of rival groups competing against each other in our very own ICCA. The "Pitch Perfect" franchise remains the highest-grossing musical series of all time.
Despite the incredible growth and mainstream popularity we’ve enjoyed, our focus remains sharply on the promotion and development of the talent that crosses our stage. We believe competition fosters growth, as groups work together toward a specific goal and cultivate lifelong skills and relationships.
We provide insightful feedback from our highly qualified judges – but more importantly, our singers get to connect with a larger audience from across the country, learning from their peers and finding inspiration in other groups.
Two years ago, our 2020 tournament was sidelined mid-season by the pandemic, and we were unable to crown champions for the first time. In 2021, as a cappella groups were unable to gather to rehearse or perform, we adapted our program by challenging groups to create 4-minute music videos, recorded and edited remotely. The astonishing artistry and skill in these videos is a testament to the adaptability, ingenuity, and determination of our competitors, and we couldn’t be prouder.
This season, we are again challenged by the pandemic, as we attempt to present live events across thousands of miles in an ever-changing COVID landscape. Although some of our events have been postponed or converted to virtual, we are determined to see the season through. Many groups haven’t been able to compete live since 2019 – some students for their entire high school or college career. We are humbled more than ever by the importance of our role in setting the stage for the creation of so much magic.
We have seen a cappella make great strides from where it began on our stage 26 years ago, and we can’t wait to see how our 2022 competitors push the envelope. Committed to promoting our singers and energized by the incredible music they create, we look forward to another memorable season. Thank you for joining us!
Sincerely,
Amanda Newman
Executive Director
ICCA MID-ATLANTIC QUARTERFINAL
Johns Hopkins University
Sunday, February 20, 2022
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ABOUT VARSITY VOCALS
Since 1996, we have encouraged students worldwide to sing a cappella throughout their lives. Our programs include the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA), and the International Championship of A Cappella Open (The Open). We also annually produce The Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) and The Best of High School A Cappella (BOHSA) compilation albums.
Our a cappella competitions give top-notch a cappella groups the opportunity to showcase their talents for an international audience and to take home valuable feedback from our qualified judges. This year, competing groups will appear in venues all around the world, offering their energetic musical performances for your enjoyment.
The college tournament takes place from January through April in nine regions across the country and around the world. Each region holds anywhere from four to five Quarterfinals, and the top groups from each Quarterfinal advance to the Semifinal. The winning group at each Semifinal is named Regional Champion and advances to the ICCA Finals at The Town Hall in New York City on Saturday, April 23rd.
The high school tournament is now in its 17th year. The winners of each of seven Semifinal rounds will advance to the ICHSA Finals at The Town Hall in New York City on Saturday, April 22nd.
The Open Tournament celebrated its third year in summer 2019 and featured six Semifinals that lead to the Open Finals featuring those six Regional Champions, two Wild Card Champions, and our 2019 ICHSA and ICCA Champions. Those 10 groups competed in October 2019 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
For a full tournament schedule, visit us at www.varsityvocals.com/events
ABOUT TONIGHT'S SHOW
The performance order was determined by random draw this afternoon and will be announced from stage.
Tonight’s performers will be evaluated on elements of their vocal and visual performance, which carry numerical weight. The highest and lowest score from the individual judges will be dropped for each group. Our judges may recognize exceptional performances with special awards as they see fit.
There will be a 15-minute intermission. After the final group has performed, a guest performer will entertain you while the scores are tabulated.
Because each group only has ten minutes to perform, we ask you to keep your applause to an enthusiastic minimum between songs. Please feel welcome to applaud as much as you want after each group has finished its set.
Videotaping and non-flash photography for personal use is permitted during the concert, so long as you do not disrupt our performers or other patrons. Due to licensing regulations, we do not provide a video or audio recording of this performance.
TONIGHT'S COMPETITORS
Off Track is a freshly formed co-ed a cappella group from Towson University, established in fall 2021.This small but mighty group has come together through a shared love of music and includes singers of various experience levels, from ICCA veterans to those brand-new to the competitive a cappella scene. This group of creative and eclectic minds is united with a common goal to find joy in every note, phrase, and color that they sing.
Til Further Notes is one of several a cappella groups at Rider University, but it’s the only group on campus that is composed entirely of musical theatre majors. It is also the only group on the campus that has climbed to TikTok fame, with a total of 212.6 thousand followers, 4.8 million likes, and over 20 million views collected on the popular social media app. They perform with a lot of love, a lot of light and hell of a lot of talent.
PandemoniUM is University of Maryland-College Park's most eclectic all-gender a cappella group, bringing originality and personality since 1993. Currently composed of a staggering 18 members (affectionately termed "pandas"), PandemoniUM has always strived to uphold musicality and to create lasting friendships. As a diverse group of students, musical styles also vary from mellow R&B to funky indie to upbeat pop. PandemoniUM takes pride in having all of their music exclusively arranged by its members. Over the years, the group has performed on and off campus for many private and public events in the D.C.-Baltimore area, including festivals, weddings, and radio shows. PandemoniUM has released four studio albums, holds two previous ICCA Quarterfinal Champion titles, and has earned various ICCA special awards over the years for Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Arrangement for the entire set, and Outstanding Vocal Percussion.
Music Dynasty is Johns Hopkins’ premier Chinese a cappella group. Founded in 2014, they are a relatively new group and seek to bring diversity and inclusion to a culture-rich campus. They sing a variety of Chinese and English songs, all of which they choose and arrange themselves, and hope to share their culture with the a cappella community through their music. They perform at numerous occasions on and off campus, including events hosted by the Chinese Student Association, Taiwanese Student Association, Model UN, and Alumni Association. During quarantine, they produced several music videos, one of which has achieved over 100K views on YouTube. They are super excited to be back on campus and singing in person again and excited to bring their music to the 2022 ICCA stage.
The Notes of Ranvier is Johns Hopkins University's only community service a cappella group! The group is named after the unmyelinated sheaths in the nervous system that allow them to feel and sing.
The UMBC Stilettos is the university’s only all-female a cappella group, featuring a collection of fun-loving, charismatic women that bring any stage to life. Established in 2007, The Stilettos have been gracing the stage with an attitude as tall as their heels for over a decade. They sing, they dance, all while looking fine.
The Johns Hopkins Vocal Chords are thrilled to be returning to the ICCA. They are proud to come from a school with so many talented a cappella groups and are excited to compete alongside them, along with amazing groups from other schools. Founded in 1995 by seven students, The Vocal Chords have enjoyed a 26-year tenure as Hopkins’ “friendly neighborhood a cappella group.” They have performed in various settings, including a Washington Wizards halftime show and at the opening of Apple’s flagship store in D.C.’s Carnegie Library. While these off-campus experiences are a blast, their most meaningful performances are on campus surrounded by their community. They earned their “friendly neighborhood” title through energetic concerts which bring equally great measures of music and fun. The pandemic brought challenges for them, but the group persisted with dedication, passion, and patience. During this time, The Vocal Chords collaborated with The Notes of Ranvier to record and release an arrangement of Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin’s “Runnin’ (Lose it All)” on Spotify and Apple Music. They have also released singles through their YouTube channel (JHU Vocal Chords), where you can also watch their 2020 ICCA set, which took 3rd place at Quarterfinals.
Xenharmonics was the first a cappella group to be formed at Frostburg State University. The group was created in 2012 and is currently the only a cappella group on campus. Xen performs at campus events with selections from various music styles, ranging from folk and country to pop and rock. Xenharmonics is excited to perform live and make music together in person again!
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Aaron Bayne is an alumnus of Towson University and Berklee Online with degrees in economics and music business. He is the award-winning beatboxer of two-time ICCA Finalists turned professional group, The Trills (@thetrills). Over the last few years, The Trills exploded on social media, accumulating over 3.6 million followers across platforms. The group’s social media presence has led to a management deal with Underscore Talent, partnerships with several global brands, millions of YouTube views, radio appearances on KIISFM and “Your Morning Show,” a feature on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," an opening slot for Straight No Chaser, a halftime performance at a Baltimore Ravens home game, a performance slot at VidCon 2022, and collaborations with acts like Drew Scott, Jon Cozart, Bryce Xavier, Quinn XCII and Tim McGraw. Aaron is excited to return as a Varsity Vocals judge this season and wishes luck to all the competing groups.
Kate Elmendorf is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where she earned a degree in music education while singing with the award-winning a cappella group, Upper Structure. Since graduating, Kate has remained active in the a cappella community by singing in Sound Off A Cappella in Boston, notably serving on the music team when they competed at Carnegie Hall during The Open Finals. She currently resides in Virginia and is pursuing a master's degree in contemporary voice pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory. Kate currently works full-time teaching transgender voice training and private singing lessons. katemitchellvoicestudio.com. Follow her @tinyvoiceteacher
Alyce McNulty is a music teacher and singer from Los Angeles, Calif. who came to Baltimore. to pursue a career in music at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Denyce Graves and Margaret Baroody. At Peabody, she founded her own professional group, Ember, with some of her dearest friends and musicians at the conservatory and in the a cappella community. They competed together at The Open in 2018 and were named Northeast Champions, singing a set of all original music that they were given the opportunity to premiere at Carnegie Hall in The Open Finals that September. Ember has since evolved into a working professional a cappella group that travels across the country, performing to many diverse audiences with a focus on music education whenever possible. When she's not singing or directing Ember, Alyce is a full-time traveling music teacher, teaching introductory piano and guitar classes, as well as general music classes, to an average of 17 schools each week.
Elliott von Wendt’s love of music began at a very young age. After learning violin and piano, he began his arranging career in high school, where he developed a love of vocal music that would grow into his profession, as well as his passion. After graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Elliott served as a music director, arranger, and bass for the internationally acclaimed a cappella group The Nor’easters, most recently bringing them to their 2017 win at the ICCA. Currently, Elliott continues to mentor and arrange for many a cappella groups around the country. @elliottvonwendt
Tony Wang sang with The Washington University Sensasians from 2011 to 2015. During his years as music director, Tony led the newly-found group to their first-ever ICCA competition, where his arrangement of "Human" won Outstanding Arrangement. Tony's love of music began on the piano, but continued through voice, guitar, and percussion, as well as arranging. Since graduation, Tony has stayed involved in the a cappella community, serving as a musical adviser for his former group and singing with a recreational a cappella group. Tony is an avid music theory fan and vocal percussionist and would love to trade some beats with anyone who asks tonight!
SPECIAL THANKS
Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank our judges, hosts, competitors, volunteers, partners, and producers; and you, the audience, for supporting Varsity Vocals programming.
Amanda Newman
Executive Director
Dave Rabizadeh
ICCA Director
Elise Hackl-Blumstein
ICHSA Director
ICHSA Great Lakes Producer
PA/MA Program Coordinator
Andrea Poole
ICHSA Co-Director
Lucy Jacobs
The Open Director
ICCA West Producer
Andrew Poole
Director of Digital Media
Erica Tackett
Director of Marketing & Social Strategy
Emily Flanders
Director of Adjudication
ICCA Great Lakes Producer
Emily Sucher
Director of Publications
Patty Floyd
Accountant
Virginia DeMoss
Album Production Coordinator
Sara Yood
Senior Producer
Holli Kitching
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Producer
Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
ICCA South Producer
Leah Alrutz
ICCA Midwest Producer
Bronwyn Jensen
ICCA Southwest Producer
Gemma Davies
ICCA United Kingdom Producer
Christopher Witham
ICCA United Kingdom Producer
Emily Benjamin
ICCA Northeast Producer
Arvin Zabalerio
ICCA Central Producer
Jillian Kimberlin
ICHSA Mid-Atlantic Producer
Danielle Sutherland
ICHSA Midwest Producer
Jake McVey
ICHSA Northeast Producer
Donald Paradis
ICHSA South Producer
Cameron Clemens
ICHSA West Producer
Courtney Jenson
Associate Producer
Emcee
Ben Garza
ICHSA Southwest Producer
Katherine Mosher
ICHSA South Day-Of Producer
Bri Decerio
ICHSA West Day-Of Producer
Jake Yoakum
ICHSA West Day-Of Producer
OUR TEAM
We have an amazing team of people who work tirelessly to make our programs so valuable for our singers and audiences alike — and they all do it while holding down full-time day jobs, too!
The top two finishing groups will advance to the 2022 ICCA Mid-Atlantic Semifinal.
BRING THE HARMONY HOME
Find your favorite groups on The Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) and The Best of High School A Cappella (BOHSA), available for purchase on Apple Music and Amazon Music!
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