DEAR FRIENDS,

Welcome to Varsity Vocals’ 27th 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 610 groups and over 9,100 singers at 85 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 cinematic 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.  

We have seen a cappella make great strides from where it began on our stage 27 years ago, and we can’t wait to see how our 2023 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 CENTRAL QUARTERFINAL

University of Rochester
Saturday, February 4th, 2023

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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 29th.

The high school tournament is now in its 18th 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 28th.

 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 Coda Conduct is an all-gender a cappella group hailing from Penn State University! Founded in 2012 by Ricky Jabarin and Trevor Johnson, the group has competed in international competitions including ICCA (winning their Quarterfinal in 2015 and 2017) and the 2018 Boston Sings (BOSS) national collegiate a cappella competition. In 2017, Coda released their first EP, followed that up in 2018 with their first full-length album titled Spectrum, and they’re currently anticipating the release of their latest EP, Hung Up. The group values diversity and acceptance and loves to challenge themselves inside and outside the world of a cappella! 

Dynamic Intonation represents the State University at Fredonia! The group members include state-of-the-art music, music education, and music performance majors, as well as music therapy, musical and non-musical theatre, dance, and even animation majors at the university. Although they are a diverse array of individuals, they value coming together each school year to form a bond and sing a cappella renditions of pop, R&B, and even jazz pieces of music. They make an effort to get to know each member by holding group picnics and other activity nights each semester. They also enjoy opportunities to connect with their community through events like their Karaoke Nights and Aca-Carnival, in which they invite other musical groups to perform, play games, and hold carnival-style activities like face painting! Dynamic Intonation is proud to highlight the many talents of its members and advertise them on their social media platforms! 

Hailing from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Eight Beat Measure is the premier tenor-baritone-bass a cappella group on campus. Eight Beat Measure began in 1987 as the RIT Men’s Octet. Originally faculty-led and formed as an extension to The RIT Singers, they quickly expanded their horizons and branched into the world of contemporary a cappella, changing their name to Eight Beat Measure to reflect the new attitude and adding members on from the original eight. The group now sings genres ranging from hip-hop to rock to Irish folk, so there is something for everyone in their repertoire. The boys continue raising the heat for their audiences at two annual concerts and they're ready to compete on stages all across the country. 

Hello from Kaminari A Cappella! Their name, Kaminari, is the Japanese word for thunder and they hope to impress with their thundering vocals! They are an all-gender SATB a cappella group at Rochester Institute of Technology. Formed in 2015, they sing Japanese music in all genres, ranging from city pop to J-rock to anything in between. Their performances include their annual spring concert, Raijin No Matsuri, anime conventions, and more. Kaminari is proud of their inclusivity and includes members from different cultural backgrounds, the LGBTQ+ community, with a general interest in foreign languages and cultures. Though not every member speaks Japanese, they all appreciate the connection and universal language that music provides. Their various backgrounds bring a unique perspective to singing in Japanese and they hope their music ignites an interest in Japanese culture and songs from around the world. Kaminari also encourages creativity and music exploration. Their members are flexible enough to move around parts where they’re needed, even trying voice parts that they haven’t sung before or even vocal percussion. Nearly all of their setlist is arranged by group members and they hope to motivate more members to learn about arranging in the future

The MacaFellas from McMaster University is the university’s low-ranged competitive a cappella group! These singers are intellectual, attractive, charismatic, and share a collective 4.0 GPA (on a 12 point scale), but, above all, they are very humble. They have competed in ICCA in 2020 and 2021 and have placed 3rd in the Central Quarterfinals. The group is led this year by Evan Yu and RJ Escuadro! 

Established in 2013, Macappella is McMaster University's all-range competitive a cappella group and the first to be founded at their university! They sing all sorts of songs, from pop music to ballads and even a bit of indie! Macappella is the place to be for a fun, chill, and passionate atmosphere of performance. This group of vocalists comes from a diverse range of musical and academic backgrounds and they want to make this year their best one yet. Their performances are full of energy, emotion, and beautiful harmonies! Macappella is returning to ICCA this year more excited than ever and looking forward to representing Canadian a cappella. 

PitchSlapped is McMaster University’s high range a cappella group! Like all the other performing groups, they are passionate about a cappella and strive to share their music with as many people as possible. You might be wondering what makes them different from the others? This group includes students from very diverse academic programs, from engineering to business to theatre. They are a busy bunch of individuals, but always ensure that they find time to get together and sing their hearts out! They love to focus on their blended sound and work hard at conveying the emotions in every song. This group considers themselves to be a family. Even when each of them has a million other obligations, they always do their best to bring each song to life and have lots of fun while doing it. 

Proof of Purchase (POP) is Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) original gender-inclusive a cappella group! The group was founded in 2009 to give RIT students an opportunity to sing with all voice types. As an SATB group, they enjoy their full sound and range of options available to them for arrangements and song choices! Despite what their name may imply, this diverse group of musicians loves all genres of music, not just pop! They have sung country, R&B, funk, and too many more to fit in this short bio! All of their music is arranged by POP members, from experienced arrangers and new ones who embrace the opportunity to learn and grow as musicians. This means that everyone has the opportunity to learn arranging, but always have someone available to them who is willing to offer guidance and answer questions. By arranging all songs themselves, POP has the unique ability to adjust their arrangements to fit their group and make their best sound possible.

The Tributones are excited to be a part of this year’s ICCA. All the talent and a fraction of the debt, this eclectic group of singers is proud to represent Monroe Community College! This “Breakfast Club” group of strong personalities will have you singing along in no time. 

A diverse group of talented young singers, Vocal Accent delves deep into the realm of a cappella with a repertoire of strong, empowering, and emotionally charged music. Though still young and finding their niche, the group is establishing itself as a company of serious musicians working to continue and build upon the modern a cappella movement. Rooted in rock and soul with modern pop highlights, Vocal Accent aims to entertain. These captivating singers are a joy to watch, as they each intangibly meld their hearts with their voices and break the boundaries of contemporary music. 

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Steven Alexander is a graduate of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music with a degree in music education. While there, he led the multiple award-winning a cappella group BisCaydence to a 2nd place finish at the 2019 ICCA Finals. He also served as an associate conductor with the Miami Children’s Chorus and at the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. His passion for a cappella led to him founding an a cappella program in his last teaching position. Currently based in upstate New York, Steven is pursuing a dual M.A./M.B.A. from the Eastman School of Music and the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. 

Allison Cranmer is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam with degrees in music education and mathematics. While at Potsdam, Allison music directed and arranged for A Sharp Arrangement, the only all-treble group on campus. As the music director, she led the Sharps to their first-ever ICCA Semifinal, toured around New York State, and recorded several different projects. Currently, Allison is the vocal and general music teacher at Palmyra-Macedon Middle School. She shares her love of a cappella with her students by listening, arranging, and performing a cappella music with them daily. 

Katelyn Marasco is currently a music teacher in the Brockport Central School District. She previously taught general music in the Greece and Hilton Central School Districts, as well as choir at Wheatland-Chili High School. She received a Bachelor of Music in music education from Nazareth College, where she was the director of their a cappella group, Call4Backup. Katelyn holds music certifications from Eastman School of Music and after completing her Master of Science in education, she sang with the local a cappella group, Cut Off. Cut Off released their debut EP on iTunes in 2013, for which Katelyn was nominated for a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) for Best Soloist. She currently performs locally in a female acoustic trio, The Genesee Three, and is excited to be returning as a judge for ICCA this year. 

Austin Matson is the Director of Choir in the Attica Central School District. He holds a B.A. in music education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a M.M. in music education from Buffalo State College. While at SUNY Potsdam, Austin was the arranger, music director, and choreographer of The Potsdam Pitches, the college's premier co-ed a cappella group, which has made recent appearances in ICCA Semifinals and Finals. He currently sings in the Vocális Chamber Choir in Buffalo, N.Y. and consults on theatre and artistic productions all around Western New York. 

Ron Veiders earned his B.A. in musicology and M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Buffalo, where he also co-founded The Buffalo Chips, an all-male a cappella group. Post-graduation, he founded the professional a cappella group, The Lake Effect, and acts as their business manager. He has been judging for ICCA since 2005, and currently works as Director of Marketing for Dynabrade in Clarence, N.Y. He also enjoys bowling, golf, the Buffalo Sabres, and spending time with his wife, Amy. 

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 Director
PA/MA Program Coordinator

Lucy Jacobs
The Open Director
 ICCA West Producer

Emily Flanders
Director of Adjudication
 ICCA Great Lakes Producer

Andrew Poole
 Director of Digital Media

Erica Tackett
 Director of Marketing
& Social Strategy

Emily Sucher
 Director of Publications

Sara Yood
Senior Producer

Holli Kitching
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Producer

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
 ICCA South Producer

Arvin Zabalerio
ICCA Central 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

Jillian Kimberlin
 ICHSA Mid-Atlantic Producer

Danielle Sutherland
 ICHSA Midwest Producer

Jake McVey
 ICHSA Northeast Producer

Cameron Clemens
 ICHSA West Producer

Ben Garza
 ICHSA Southwest Producer

Luke Thomas
 ICHSA South Producer

Adam McNeil
ICHSA Great Lakes Producer

Nicole Kholweiss
 ICCA Central Day-Of Producer

Courtney Jenson
 Associate Producer
Emcee Extraordinaire

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 placing groups at this event will advance to the 2023 ICCA Central 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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