THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OF HIGH SCHOOL
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
ICHSA GREAT LAKES SEMIFINAL
Pabst Theater
Saturday, March 12, 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 The Record is a passionate group of student musicians who strive to entertain audiences with technically sound and emotionally compelling performances. Based at Lockport Township High School, OTR performs widely throughout the Midwest and beyond.
Through friendship, passion, and dedication, the sisters of High Fidelity work hard to show their audiences a musical story of love, heartbreak, and realization. This group of best friends loves to empower every crowd just as they empower one another.
Minor Renovation is in its fifth year at Buffalo Grove High School, founded in the fall of 2017. Minor Renovation has 19 members, freshman through seniors. Minor Renovation is very excited to compete with ICHSA once again.
Gold Nation is an extracurricular a cappella ensemble from Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Ill. This is their third year as an ensemble and they are excited to welcome many new members after a one-and-a-half-year break due to Covid! Members consist of freshman through senior students who audition to be in the group in the fall. Gold Nation rehearses once a week in the evening throughout the school year. They are so excited to be back singing together and look forward to performing and listening to all the other groups. They hope you enjoy their performance.
Harmonix is a female-identifying ensemble from Jordan High School in Jordan, Minn. They aim to empower young women through their song choices and stage performances. They are excited for the opportunity to be here at the ICHSA and hope you enjoy their performance.
Vocal Point is a 14-member, auditioned a cappella group from Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School in Galesville, Wis. In 2015, they were invited to take part in the first-ever a cappella festival at Carnegie Hall hosted by “Pitch Perfect” music producer Deke Sharon. Vocal Point has performed all over the Midwest, opening for nationally touring groups such as Six Appeal, Street Corner Symphony, Revoiced, Cantus, Vocalosity, DCappella, and The Exchange. They have graced some of the biggest stages in the country, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, and more. Vocal Point has participated in the ICHSA for eight years, finishing in the top 20 groups and winning awards for Outstanding Soloist and Outstanding Vocal Percussion each time. In 2017, they won the ICHSA Wildcard round and advanced to Finals in New York, ultimately placing 3rd and winning Outstanding Vocal Percussion (Ethan Giles). They returned to ICHSA Finals in 2018 and placed 4th. In 2019, Vocal Point took a break from competing to focus on workshops with other high school a cappella programs and perform at the National A Cappella Convention (NACC) in Memphis, Tenn. Vocal Point performs for functions such as weddings, dinners, festivals, and school concerts.
Knight Club is an 18-member gender-inclusive a cappella group from Oak Creek High School. Knight Club advanced to Finals in 2019 and competed in last year’s virtual Finals. After recording music and making videos last year, Knight Club is very excited to be back and competing on their home stage. If you want to know more about what Knight Club is up to, check them out on Instagram @ochsknightclub.
Vocal Point is an extracurricular contemporary a cappella ensemble, open to freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors! This audition-based group is an advanced treble ensemble (plus a vocal percussionist) from Lockport Township High School. They perform music from pop, rock, and contemporary genres and sing using modern popular techniques.
SolTown from GTown (Germantown), Wis. is a mixed-voice a cappella ensemble and they’re excited to be back performing again. Last year, the "lost" year, they were focused on audio and video production and created their first music video of "Still Feel" by Half Alive. While they had a great time exploring that side of the a cappella world, nothing can replace the feeling of performing for a live audience and the relationships that are forged at ICHSA. They’re thrilled to be back!
Limited Edition is a talented mixed group of young men and women from the Port Washington/Saukville School District in Wisconsin. Founded by director Dennis Gephart, the ensemble began as an extracurricular a cappella group that provided opportunities for advanced music students throughout the district. The name Limited Edition was chosen to represent the group’s most unique characteristic: each roster of Limited Edition only lasts one school year, at which point an entirely new group is formed.
Unaccompanied Minors A Cappella is a co-ed, student-led group at Brookfield East High School. Though they specialize in performing pop songs, Unaccompanied Minors dabbles in other genres, such as rock and indie. Established five years ago by students Emma Jester and Macy Gardner, they have since grown and become popular within the Brookfield and Elm Grove communities. They recently opened in concert for country singer Adam Doleac in September and are proud of their 1st place win in their 2020 ICHSA Quarterfinal! The signature colors of Unaccompanied Minors, baby blue and black, symbolize the fierce bond between all of the members. Derrik Bold, a bass, helped establish a close-knit bond with freshmen and seniors alike through “Flannel Fridays” and delicious homemade pizzas. However, Derrick is just one of the 18 amazing individuals that compose Unaccompanied Minors. Though the group enjoyed a successful virtual season of performance opportunities and recruiting new, talented members, all of them agree that it wasn’t the same without an in-person ICHSA. Unaccompanied Minors thanks all of their supporters as they continue pursuing the title of ICHSA Finals Champions. Unaccompanied Minors is back and ready to present a performance like no other!
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Daniel Fister (he/him) began singing a cappella at age 15 and has been enthusiastically involved ever since. He is a proud original member of Wilsonville High School's Soul’d Out and alumnus of Chapman University SoundCheck. In both groups, he sang bass, arranged, served as music director, and competed regularly in Varsity Vocals events, including the 2010 ICHSA Finals and 2011 and 2013 ICCA West Semifinals. Daniel now judges Varsity Vocals and other a cappella events, writes reviews for the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB), and teaches masterclasses including at Boston Sings (BOSS). His time singing and judging a cappella inspired him to pursue a doctoral degree in musicology and his forthcoming dissertation explores the links between community formation and race in contemporary scholastic a cappella. He is thrilled to return to judging in person for his eighth year with Varsity Vocals and wishes the best to all the competing groups!
Felicia Francois fell in love with a cappella when she became a member of The UNCG Sapphires. After serving as director of that group, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and choral music education. She worked as a chorus teacher and private voice teacher in Greensboro for four years and then went on to receive a master's degree in speech-language pathology from Boston University. Felicia is now working as a speech-language pathologist with a specialty in voice. She is thrilled to be an ICCA judge once again and wishes the best to all those competing!
Laura Kruschke has been involved in a cappella since her college days at UW-Madison, where she sang with Tangled Up in Blue and earned her degree in music education. In 2007, she participated in launching the Contemporary A Cappella League (CAL) and founded greenTONE A Cappella in fall 2007. gT is 10 members strong today and sings for a variety of local events, including weddings, holiday parties, fundraisers, and flash mobs. In addition to gT, Laura continues to offer her expertise to local high school choirs through workshops and group coaching. In addition to Laura’s aca-involvement, she arranges music for local high school show choir and a cappella groups, sings and plays saxophone in a local band, teaches yoga, and wears many other hats as a mom to three busy school-aged kids.
Molly Pufall-Brown is happy to be judging for Varsity Vocals again this year. She was a member of the Millikin University OneVoice group that won the ICCA Champion title in 2004. She holds an M.M. from Northern Illinois University and taught full-time at the collegiate level for eight years in Milwaukee, Wis. She currently works at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and directs a church choir in Brookfield, Wis. Molly is also a founding member of The Marion Consort, a professional Chicago-based early music ensemble. She thrives on educating people about the art and aesthetics of singing with others, particularly in small ensembles.
SPECIAL THANKS
Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank the incredible staff at the Pabst, especially Marc, Robyn, and Kyle; Alex and Paul at Audio Max for making us sound awesome, and Robert Tyree for the incredible photos; Michael, Jordan, Marco, and Adam who made this event happen; all of the wonderful directors in the Great Lakes region who give so much to their students, and to the students who give so much to their music; Rob Hackl-Blumstein for your never-ending support; 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 placing group will advance to 2022 ICHSA Finals.
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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