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
Oak Creek Performing Arts Center
Sunday, February 27, 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
Treble Threat is in its third year at Buffalo Grove High School, founded in the fall of 2019. Treble Threat has 11 members, ranging from freshman through seniors. Treble Threat is very excited to be competing once again with ICHSA.
Major Detour is in its fourth year at Buffalo Grove High School, founded in the fall of 2018. Major Detour has seven members, including juniors through seniors. Major Detour is very excited to be competing with ICHSA once again, finishing as Quarterfinal Champions in 2019.
Focus is an extracurricular group at Port Washington High School. Now in its seventh year of existence, the group is committed to growing a musical foundation for its members and expanding their musical knowledge. They are directed by Stephen Lanza.
Good Old Acapella is from Beaver Dam High School and enjoys entertaining the community with popular music from across the decades. This year, the group features the Mangan sisters singing alto, two unrelated Uttechs singing tenor, and a tall guy singing bass and holding the pitch pipe. They are super excited to share their set this year, featuring a simple love story.
Incognito is in its eighth year of existence since beginning as a secret meeting of students and director to surprise audiences at a fall concert. Thus, meeting "incognito" is how the group name was selected. During last year’s virtual ICHSA, they advanced on to Semifinals for the first time in their competitive history (they owe it all to the squismallows, Baby Yoda, and Danny Devito). This year's group is the largest it has ever been and they are working on creating their own cover album this year.
Ladies Knight is a treble-clef ensemble from Oak Creek High School. After a year of studio recording and music video creating, they are so excited to perform this year on their own home stage for Quarterfinals. You may have heard them on the 2021 BOHSA album or at the 2021 Virtual Semifinals! Check out their instagram @ladiesknightoc to keep up with what the group is up to next.
Limited Edition is a talented mixed group of young men and women from the Port Washington/Saukville School District in Wisconsin. Founded by their 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.
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!
The Treblesome Teens is a student-led group that enjoys singing together and improving their musical skills. The group was founded in 2016 by a group of friends who just loved to sing and they have grown every year since.
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
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!
Heather Newkirk is a proud alumna of Syracuse University's Main Squeeze, for whom she sang, arranged, choreographed, and did vocal percussion. Since graduating, Heather has remained active in the a cappella world as social media coordinator for BOSS, Program Manager of Social Media for the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA), associate producer of Voices Only, and an instructor for workshops and masterclasses at a cappella festivals nationwide. She has won ICCA awards for Outstanding Arrangement and Outstanding Vocal Percussion as a college student, and Varsity Vocals has held a special place in her heart ever since.
Kimberly Raschka Sailor is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB), and she has written more than 300 reviews of high school, collegiate, and professional groups since 2005. A former ICCA Finalist, Kimberly is the co-founder and past president of the University of Southern California's Reverse Osmosis. Kimberly has also served as a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) nominator and judge. In addition to volunteering in the a cappella community, Kimberly is an author and elected school board member for the Mount Horeb Area School District in Wisconsin, where she also sings with the Mount Horeb Chorale. This is Kimberly's 15th year adjudicating for Varsity Vocals.
SPECIAL THANKS
Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank the Oak Creek staff, especially Lexi Cuda, Sam Wulterkens, and Gillian Pacetti; our student hosts for your time and energy, as well as our wonderful deliberation performers; our incredible sound engineers at Audio Max, our event staff Jordan Smart, Michael Severino, and Mercurius Armanious, and Rob Hackl-Blumstein; 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!
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