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 SOUTH QUARTERFINAL

 

Trinity Preparatory School
Saturday, February 11th, 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

All-Night Yahtzee is Florida State's oldest, award-winning, premier mixed a cappella group. Formed in 1998, they are celebrating their 25th year on campus. They have evolved into one of the most noted groups in the nation, gracing competition stages around the country like ICCA, SoJam, and more. They also work with other student organizations to perform for their peers around campus. The group members come from different places, musical backgrounds, and interests, but blend together to create not great music and a loving community. 

Demon Divas is Wake Forest University's premier contemporary all-female a cappella group. They have enjoyed making and sharing music with their fans since 1998 and are in the process of releasing their fifth studio album on Spotify.

Drastic Measures, East Carolina University's gender-inclusive a cappella group, was founded in 2018. Through music, Drastic Measures strives to promote diversity, unity, and inclusion across ECU's campus. A relatively new organization, Drastic Measures was hit with the Covid-19 pandemic during their growing years. This diverse group includes a wide range of musical talents and vocal ranges. They enjoy performing for school events such as Skit Night at ECU and community events such as Greenville Gives. They enjoy supporting other organizations on campus and the people of the Greenville community. As a group, they strive to give students of any major a safe space to sing pop, rock, country and many other genres. The group is composed of business majors, music majors, education majors, and many more. They are excited to participate in ICCA and believe it provides an extraordinary opportunity to branch out and showcase their musical talents. Enjoy the show! 

KeyHarmony at the University of Central Florida is not your average female a cappella group. These ladies genuinely care about one another and the growth of the group as a whole. KeyHarmony has overcome many obstacles throughout the years that have made them stronger than ever and they want to showcase that strength to the world through their music and storytelling. KeyHarmony enjoys competing in various competitions and  attending different conferences. At their core, they are a group of ladies who love creating music and giving unforgettable performances. 

Mixed Mode is an all-gender group at the University of Central Florida. Mixed Mode was founded back in 2015 by members of other UCF groups who felt they were in search of something more. Through the years, Mixed Mode continued that mentality of always looking for something more in the a cappella community. Mixed Mode strives to find new musical and visual ways to create innovative a cappella. With that mindset, Mixed Mode has been able to succeed in both the competition and recording worlds and they are excited to continue that path with their newest generation of artists. 

Rocky's Angels is the only upper-voiced a cappella group from the University of South Florida. They were established in 2016 with a few members and their numbers have grown since then to the group you see today. This group includes many different majors, ranging from psychology to information technology and biology. Their goal is to allow any upper-voice musician to sing, make music, and have a good time doing it, no matter the major! The group performs around campus and the local Tampa Bay area. Previous performance highlights include singing for the USF Fast 56 awards, Class Ring Ceremony, USF Phi Delta Epsilon anatomy fashion show fundraiser, and the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts! Outside of rehearsal, the fun doesn't stop. Their members love boba tea runs and karaoke nights filled with laughter and a good time. They sing songs from a variety of genres and even composed some original pieces for this competition. Some of their featured pieces this year are “This is Gospel” by Panic at the Disco, “The Cure” by Lady Gaga, and even “Don’t You Forget About Me,” just like in “Pitch Perfect.” You won’t BULL-lieve how excited they are to compete this year! 

Tone Definition is the sole service-based a cappella group at the University of Florida. The singers of Tone Definition are determined to ReDEFine music as you hear it! 

Scarlette Fever is the University of Tampa's all-female a cappella group! Scarlette Fever is made up of some of the most talented ladies at the University of Tampa, freshmen and seniors alike! Although they come from different backgrounds, they strive to support and lift up the women of UT while making music. This is Scarlette Fever’s fourth year as a group. Their founder, Lily Wiggle, wanted to create a group that would have fun together, build one another up, and sing beautiful harmonies. They are a completely student-led group, from their arrangements to their music direction to choreography. They specialize in pieces originally performed by female artists because they want to support other women in music. Their group name and color theme stem from their school colors of red and black. Some of their campus performances include singing an arrangement of the national anthem at their school’s Midnight Madness pep rally, putting on campus showcases, and performing at the Luminaria ceremony during Relay for Life, where they had their own team that fundraised for cancer research. They have competed at ICCA for three years and are so excited to perform tonight! 

Vanderbilt University's Spectrum A Cappella is a competitive fusion a cappella team that promotes diverse cultures by blending pop music from around the globe. Spectrum competed at the national A3 championships in San Antonio, Texas in 2022. Spectrum competes in both the A3 and ICCA circuits and has traveled across the nation to compete in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Austin. The team also collaborates with other organizations to showcase its annual spring and Fall concerts to perform and involve students across campus.


GUEST PERFORMER



Vocal Society (also known as VoSo) is the upper school mixed-voice ensemble from right here at Trinity Prep. These students choreograph and arrange many of their a cappella selections, mostly composed of contemporary and musical theater pieces. In addition to competing in ICHSA Quarterfinals and Semifinals, VoSo performs in many honors choirs and conventions throughout the United States. VoSo just returned from performing at the Briarcrest OneVoice Invitational. After they present their March A cappella showcase here on campus, they look forward to performing at the National A Cappella Convention (NACC). The group is under the direction of Christina Carter.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Katharine Mosher has been involved with a cappella since high school, where she sang with The Mello Divas. She earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal music at Loyola University Chicago in 2014, where she was a member, arranger, choreographer, and music director of The Silhouettes. Katharine was featured in two albums recorded with The Silhouettes, as well as an album with The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. In 2018, she began working for Deke Sharon and Brody McDonald at Camp A Cappella. Currently residing in Tampa, she teaches 2nd grade, elementary choir, and musical theater. 

Omar Nossair is a professional musician and singer. He studied choral music education at FSU, where he sang with both Reverb and The A'Caphiliacs. He competed in ICCA several times, making repeat appearances at ICCA Semifinals with both groups and going to Finals with Reverb. He has been singing professionally since 2015, most of which has been a cappella. Some of his credits include the Harry Potter Frog Choir at Universal Studios Japan, several guest entertainer contracts on Norwegian Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, and Princess Cruise Lines, the Harry Potter Frog Choir, Ragtime Gals, and Sing It! a cappella shows at Universal Studios Orlando, and the Voices of Liberty and the Dapper Dans at Walt Disney World. Omar recently completed a contract on board a German cruise ship. 

DJ Paradis started his a cappella journey at Winter Park High School. During his time at WPHS, he was an active member of Naughty Scotty and the Octapella and performed with them on the ICHSA stage in 2013. In college, DJ was active with several organizations. He directed Hat Trick at Stetson University, advanced to ICCA Finals with UCF’s Voicebox in 2016, and directed FSU’s Reverb for three years, releasing two award-winning albums. During this time, he also became a private vocal percussion teacher for students all over the state of Florida. After college, DJ became a frequent instructor for SoJam A Cappella-fest, teaching vocal texture and rhythm section classes, and worked with Varsity Vocals as both a production assistant and an area producer for the ICHSA. At the same time, he began working for Camp A Cappella as a counselor, instructor, performer, and is currently the media director. This year, DJ became more involved with The A Cappella Education Association, working on the board and as an instructor for the 2023 NACC. Currently, he works as a media production teacher at Orange Technical College and University High School, while directing UHS’s brand new a cappella group, Voice Activated. 

Nala Price is a singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. She has appeared on NBC's “The Voice” Season 12, Theatre UCF's “Songs of Inspiration” at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, and has traveled across the U.S. competing with UCF's award-winning a cappella group, Voicebox. She became the artistic director of Voicebox in 2019 and served in the role until graduating from UCF with a B.F.A. in musical theatre and a minor in dance. She was most recently a featured vocalist in Penguin Entertainment's a cappella group, Right on Key! Nala hopes to continue her career performing, learning, and inspiring others along the way. 

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Christina Carter, Vocal Society, Tiffany Hyatt, Trevor Sheridan, Chris Juengel and the team at Liquid 5th, Tony Cuevas and the Trinity Prep Security Staff, Trinity Preparatory School parent and student volunteers; 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 South 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!

VIEW ALBUMS

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