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 QUARTERFINAL
DeKalb High School
Saturday, February 5, 2022
WE'RE SOCIAL
We're talking about this event, and all of our events around the world!
varsityvocals
@varsityvocals
@varsityvocals
Follow us @varsityvocals on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, and join the conversation using #ICCA and #ICHSA.
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
The Overtones is in its first year of performance at Barrington High School. This incredible group of young singers brings passion, commitment, and talent to the stage in their high-octane performances! These 16 members represent some of the strongest a cappella singers in a vocal music program of nearly 200 students. They enjoy performing in a wide variety of settings in and around the Barrington community for all types of audiences.
Enharmonic Fusion is a mixed a cappella ensemble from DeKalb High School in DeKalb, Ill. Established in 2010, they advanced to ICHSA Finals that first year and did so again in 2012, 2015 and 2016. In 2017, they held onto their Midwest Semifinal Champion title and ultimately placed 2nd overall at ICHSA Finals. When not rehearsing or performing, they enjoy getting ice-cream and listening to a cappella jams. They also enjoy hearing Mr. Erikson gently remind them to clean up their water bottles and music binders. They would like to send a huge thanks to their supporters in the DeKalb community, as well as their friends and family.
Graftonics is an extracurricular contemporary a cappella group from Grafton High School, in Grafton, Wis. This audition-based, 18-member group composed of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Graftonics is the most competitive and select musical group at GHS but the rewards that come with being the group far outweigh the challenges.They have been performing for several years, many of which the group has participated in ICHSA and advanced through Semifinals. This year, the group has several new members and has been challenged with scheduling difficulties, changing their rehearsals to the morning. However, each Graftonics member’s passion for music and the group has helped this new season run smoothly and created a strong shared bond among them. Graftonics is thrilled to be back to live performances and can't wait to perform for an energetic audience. Graftonics wishes their competitors the best of luck and thanks ICHSA for giving them the opportunity to share their love of music with the world.
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.
Nothin' But Treble is Loyola Academy's all-female a cappella group. These ladies specialize in singing pop music, but dabble in rock, jazz, and R&B as well. Their favorite thing is cheering on and collaborating with Acafellas, Loyola's all-male a cappella group.
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.
Tonal Eclipse is a mixed group consisting of fun, loving, and creative members. Their eclectic variety of music, tones and styles captures the spirit of the group as a whole. Always feeding off the audience's energy and positive vibes, they are guaranteed to rock the stage!
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Lena Burke received a bachelor’s degree in music from Northern Illinois University and is teaching elementary general music at Hillcrest Elementary School in Elgin, Ill. Lena performed with the all-female a cappella group, The Harmelodics, from 2014 to 2017 and continued to work with them as a guest clinician after her time at NIU. As music director for the group, she received a special ICCA award for Outstanding Arrangement and led them to Great Lakes Semifinals in 2017. In addition to her teaching, she runs an extracurricular choral program for 4th through 6th grade students and sings with the professional choir Cor Cantiamo in DeKalb, Ill.
Cristian Larios is a composer, conductor, vocalist, and educator from Joliet, Ill. He graduated from Illinois State University with bachelor’s degrees in music education and music composition. During his time at ISU, he was an active member of The Illinois State Acafellaz, where he actively arranged and collaborated with other ISU groups to make a name for Illinois State. His music has been performed by the Bolingbrook's VIBE, Secondary Dominance, The Acafellaz, Illinois State Madrigals, The No-Name Chorale, SWIC Chamber Singers, and has been featured at the REDNote New Music Festival. He has also collaborated with the School of Theatre and Dance and Kristin Schoenback on Ellen Mclaughin’s "Oedipus." Cristian enjoys the collaborative process and is always looking for new adventures and challenges.
Adam McNeil has been singing contemporary a cappella since he was in 5th grade and hasn't ever stopped being involved. He matriculated at Northern Illinois University, where he majored in business and studied music. At NIU, he was a founding member, arranger, president, and choreographer for the The Huskie Hunks, leading them to Midwest Semifinals his senior year. Since graduating, Adam spent a summer at Rowan University advising the school’s all-male a cappella group, PROFecey, as arranger and vocal coach. Adam currently works in student affairs at Utah Valley University. Adam's love for a cappella continues and he is very excited to be judging for Varsity Vocals this season.
Lee Stovall currently teaches choir for the South Milwaukee school district, where he directs the award-winning a cappella groups, Delta V and The Poprockets, who recently released their debut album, Keep Myself. A founding member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison a cappella group, Fundamentally Sound, he has been interested in promoting contemporary a cappella education since college, and keeps busy arranging and coaching for groups around the world. He arranged for "Broadway Goes A Cappella 3" at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City to rave reviews. Lee's work has earned ICCA awards and Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs), as well as spots on BOCA and BOHSA compilations. He has attended seminars with The Vocal Company and Vocomotion studios, volunteered for SingStrong Chicago and A Cappella Fest, and judged for Varsity Vocals, CARAs, and the A Cappella Video Awards (AVAs). Lee has also worked with Camp A Cappella, directing ensembles from the middle school to collegiate levels, and is a board member of A Cappella University. Outside of the contemporary a cappella world, Lee sings with two professional classical ensembles, The Madison Choral Project and Present Music Milwaukee.
SPECIAL THANKS
Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Angel Smith and Travis Erikson at DeKalb High School, along with the DeKalb High School administration for making this possible; our incredible sound engineers at Audio Max, our event staff Jordan Smart, Michael Severino, and Mercurius Armanious; Rob Hackl-Blumstein and our guest performers, The Huskie Hunks; 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 Great Lakes 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!
varsityvocals