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 UNITED KINGDOM QUARTERFINAL
The Exchange, Twickenham
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
Let's keep it SUSSINCT: From the University of Sussex, SUSSINCT is the first competitive a cappella group to come from Brighton. Founded in 2020, they represent the new wave of a cappella, creating fresh, original sounds, and representing South coast seaside pride. Starting out in 2020 meant that they may have got off to a rocky start, but they have persevered with determination to create something unforgettable and have successfully created a rich and vibrant a cappella scene for Brighton. This is SUSSINCT’s first venture into the competitive world and they hope to inspire an entire city to join the incredible and creative community of a cappella.
The DeciBelles is Cardiff University's all-female a cappella group. They are two-time ICCA U.K. Semifinalists as well as winners of the Open in 2020. After a successful Edinburgh Fringe run in 2019, they recorded their debut EP, which was released in 2021. The group performs an extensive repertoire, ranging from Little Mix to Gregory Porter, and they are excited to introduce generation nine.
The Acappellads is Cardiff University's all-male a cappella group who have covered a range of songs from Little Richard to Eminem, Beyoncé, and more! Bringing dynamic energy to well-known classics and giving goosebumps with beautiful harmonies in slower ballads, this group has it all!
CU Vox is a mixed-gender a cappella group from Cardiff University! The group is made up of 16 people, ranging in age from 18 to 28. They all have different interests and personalities, but have been brought together into this little aca-family through a mutual passion for a cappella. They can be heard singing high-energy pop songs or emotional ballads, anything with a powerful message behind it. A fun fact about CU Vox is that they’ve also been lucky enough to be featured on seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix show, “Sex Education,” where they took their a cappella to the screen as the fictional group Asking for Treble.
The Conchords is a jazz a cappella group, bringing together nine friends studying across Guildhall School of music and drama. The group was over the moon to win the ICCA U.K. Semifinal in 2020, although unfortunately, they couldn't compete in New York for Finals due to COVID. This year, the group is back with a new lineup and a fun and diverse set, giving some well-known classics their uniquely jazzy and soulful twist. They will be performing arrangements written by their director James Rose, from the acclaimed a cappella group, Accent.
The Scopes is Imperial College London’s contemporary mixed a cappella group! They have been singing their hearts since October 2011 and the family has been growing ever since. Boasting an international membership from both Imperial College and the Royal College of Music, The Scopes combine diverse talents and mind-blowing harmonies to create a unique sound. Favouring complex musical arrangements, ranging from jazz funk to pop ballads, all of their repertoire is arranged by current group members or alumni. Their songs range all the way from Bruno Mars to the jazzy tunes of Nat King Cole. Having previously competed in the ICCA United Kingdom Semifinals, The Scopes have built a collection of songs, released several home and live performance videos, and hosted several annual showcases in Finborough Arms. They also did their first-ever run at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe, which turned out to be a great success and they hope to return soon! This year, they’re excited for the opportunity to showcase the new talented singers in their family and share all their hard work!
The Rolling Tones is an award-winning a cappella group from King’s College London. Founded in 2007 by Alice Whiteley, the group has performed all over the world, from singing at the Bahrain Youth Festival in 2018 to touring the West Coast of the U.S. in 2019. These two-time United Kingdom Champions pride themselves on their incredible soloists and even won two Outstanding Soloist awards in the 2020 competition season. To hear those incredible solos and many more, check out their Spotify and soon to be released debut album, Watch your Tone.
The Oxford Alternotives was the first a cappella group to be set up at the University of Oxford in 1993, providing an alternative to all of the chapel choirs that dominated the music scene at that time. As one of Oxford’s only mixed a cappella groups, they are known for their creative takes on pop songs and contemporary music. As a group, The Alternotives includes a huge variety of students, from medics to musicians to mathematicians and more, and everyone brings something different to the team. Whilst the pandemic brought many things to standstill, The Alternotives were not put off and just kept singing, attempting Zoom rehearsals with erratic, and often hilarious, results. Back and thrilled to be singing in person again, The Alternotives cannot wait to get back to performing.
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Aliak Bedirian is a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in London. She has been passionate about music from a young age and has extensive experience in various genres. She has been involved in classical, rock, big band/jazz, and musical theatre performances, and has a B.A. in music from the University of Bristol. Her a cappella career began with joining mixed group, The Bristol Suspensions, in 2014, becoming co-musical director in 2015 and co-founding the all-female group, Pitch Fight, in the same year. With The Bristol Suspensions, she won Outstanding Arrangement at an ICCA U.K. Quarterfinal and the group was crowned champions of Voice Festival U.K. in 2016. Since then, she has joined VoCollective, which competed in the 2018 Open, and continues to arrange and perform around London. Aliak looks forward to seeing what the ICCA has in store this year.
Georgia Blessitt is a current member of the 11-piece group Axiom, based up and down the U.K. She competed in ICCA Finals twice with Aquapella and in The Open with NoVI. She is the recipient of an Outstanding Soloist award at ICCA, as well as the coveted Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) for Best Mixed Collegiate Solo. She has also collaborated with U.K. groups Versa and All the King's Men and recently judged the U.K.'s first Open A Cappella Competition (OAC). She is also an active performer outside the a cappella world; this June, you can catch her as Dolores in “Sister Act” at the London Oratory School.
Gabriella Hakes (née Monnington) is one of the cofounders of the University of Bath’s award-winning group, Aquapella. From 2012 to 2016 she was co-musical director and arranger for the group, winning awards for her outstanding musicality and arrangements at competition, taking two highly acclaimed shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, and releasing the groups first EP, Lambda. Since graduating, she now arranges and performs with VoCollective, a six-piece jazz vocal group. VoCollective was named a 2018 Open Finalist at Carnegie Hall in New York and performed alongside The Swingles at the London Jazz Festival in 2019.
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 Co-Director
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 United Kingdom 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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