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 NORTHEAST QUARTERFINAL
Galvin Middle School
Sunday, February 13, 2022
WE'RE SOCIAL
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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
Accent A Cappella is a fully student-run, gender-inclusive, a cappella group from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Mass. The group is composed of 12 members representing every year at school. When not rehearsing, Accent members enjoy eating copious amounts of Hint of Lime chips, reveling in spontaneous bursts of musical genius, and playing competitive team sports. Accent also enjoys engaging in and planning community events such as their annual concert, Acapalooza! Accent has released music on streaming services with their EP, Wave, and plans to record more music in the near future. Follow on Instagram @accentacappella for more Accent updates!
Falconize is one of three a cappella ensembles from Danvers High School in Danvers, Mass., and has placed at and received awards at numerous ICHSA Quarterfinals and Semifinals. Falconize's recordings have been featured on many BOHSA compilations and nominated for Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs). When not competing, they enjoy singing at school and community events.
Luminescence, an all-female a cappella group from Marblehead High School, was founded in 2005 and has been entertaining audiences ever since. From a competitive standpoint, the group has received awards for their choreography and soloists (ICHSA and NE Voices) and won the NE Voices competition in 2014. Over the years, the group has participated in other exciting endeavors, such as performing at Governor Baker's Inaugural Ball. Luminescence recently released three joint albums with The Jewel Tones: C105, Six Feet Apart, and No Time for Trouble. Be sure to follow Luminescence on Instagram @mhsluminescence.
The Crescendos is Chelmsford High School's treble-voiced a cappella group. Currently in their sixth year, The Crescendos take pride in a group culture that encourages authenticity and self expression. They have previously appeared as ICHSA Semifinalists and taken home awards for Outstanding Arrangement and Outstanding Vocal Percussion. The Crescendos are thrilled to return to live performance this year.
The Jewel Tones is a co-ed a cappella group from Marblehead High School. Founded in 2003, the group has since shared their music with the community and beyond. Now in their 18th year, The Jewel Tones have participated in many competitions, including ICHSA and NE Voices. Be sure to follow The Jewel Tones on Instagram @mhsthejeweltones.
Tonal Chaos (formerly The Sachimes), formed in 2016, is an award-winning, co-ed, a cappella group from Saugus Middle/High School in Saugus, Mass. They have been participating in the ICHSA since 2017 and have gone on to two ICHSA Semifinal rounds. In their first year competing, they placed 1st at Quarterfinals and went on to win Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Vocal Percussion in Semifinals. Tonal Chaos has performed and competed all over Massachusetts, including Haunted Harmonies in Salem, Mass. where they finished 2nd and won Outstanding Soloist and Outstanding Vocal Percussion in 2018.
The Thursdays is Chelmsford High School's original a cappella group. They are thrilled to return for their seventh season in the ICHSA, where they have proudly represented the Northeast region on the Finals stage and earned awards for their soloists, vocal percussionists, and choreography. They love the challenge of storytelling through their competition set and celebrating all of the competitors’ hard work.
Voices of Steel is the advanced mixed voice group at Wakefield High School, directed by Ana Morel. Formed in 2009, they have collaborated with groups such as The Exchange, Musae, and The Nor'easters, and have worked with Shams Ahmed, Deke Sharon, and Caleb Whelden. They love to make music almost as much as they love their red Converse. In 2018, they placed 2nd in their ICHSA Northeast Quarterfinal. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, they won the NE Voices competition, and in 2015, they won the Salem Pitch Trials. Members have won awards for student arranging and outstanding soloists. They are so excited that live a cappella is back and thrilled to be performing and singing together again! Follow them on social media @VoicesofSteel.
GUEST PERFORMER
Distilled Harmony is one of the many collegiate a cappella groups in the Boston area and one of three all-gender a cappella groups at Northeastern. In addition to hosting shows on campus and singing with other groups in the area, they often participate in competitions such as the ICCA. They have placed highly in both Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds, and have won Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Soloist, and Outstanding Vocal Percussion awards in previous years. Additionally, they have recorded two studio albums as well as an EP, which have garnered awards from the CARAs and Voices Only. They like to be competitive and take their music seriously, but never lose sight of having fun! Feel free to check out their Spotify at Distilled Harmony, and all other social media @DistilledHarmonyNU to stay up to date will all things DH!
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Isaiah Hawkins is an arranger, songwriter, and music educator from Auburn Hills, Mich. He graduated with a degree in music education from Michigan State University, where he was a music director of State of Fifths and The MSU Spartones. At MSU, he was a production assistant for the ICHSA Great Lakes region and received Outstanding Arrangement awards from ICCA and The AcaOpen. He also released an EP, Lifeline, and an album, Legacy, with State of Fifths, receiving CARA and A Cappella Video Award (AVA) nominations and awards along the way. Isaiah was also one of the members of the Voices Only Productions arranging team, sang with Flux Vocals, served as the North Region Relationship Manager for the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA), was on the Boston Sings (BOSS) team, and is a clinician for vocal groups of all ages!
Brandon Hetherington is a seasoned a cappella professional, having started his first a cappella group in high school, The Spartones. He attended UMass Amherst for voice performance and music education, where he sang in The Vocal Suspects and served as a tenor, arranger, performance director, and choreographer, winning Outstanding Choreography at ICCA. He later joined The Hexachords, advancing with the group repeatedly to ICCA Semifinals, and was featured on Pop TV’s “Sing It On.” He has taught at festivals including BOSS, and has also taught at Uxbridge High School.
Amy Malkoff is one of the producers of the Haunted Harmonies festival in Salem, Mass. She has served as the marketing director for the A Cappella Education Association, as well as the media director of the Women's A Cappella Association (WACA), and on the board and as web content director for CASA. She is a longtime ICHSA/ICCA judge, as well as a certified judge for other vocal events. She is a workshop teacher, master clinician, writer, designer, runner of social media campaigns (www.amymalkoff.com), and a singer/songwriter and studio musician (www.amymalkoffmusic.com). She was a founding member of award-winning groups All About Buford and Deadline Poet and has appeared onstage and in the studio with acts like Wayne Brady, Jonathan Brooke, The Persuasions, Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, GrooveLily, Patty Griffin, and Dar Williams. She has a degree in music from Kenyon College, with music studies at Youngstown State University and master’s-level coursework at the New England Conservatory of Music. Amy's music has appeared on both the Rounder Records and Hear Music/Starbucks labels. @amalkoff
SPECIAL THANKS
Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Ana Morel at Wakefield High School, along with the Galvin Middle School administration for making this possible; our guest performers, Northeastern University’s Distilled Harmony; our incredible sound engineer, Caleb Whelden and our event staff; 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 three finishing groups will advance to 2022 ICHSA Northeast Semifinals.
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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