2023 ICCA Southwest Quarterfinal @ Allen High School

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 SOUTHWEST QUARTERFINAL

Allen High School
Saturday, March 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

Absolute Pitch A Cappella is the newest a cappella group at the University of Texas at Austin, founded in 2018. The group is composed of female-identifying and nonbinary singers who seek to uplift diverse voices through music. They have performed at various events around UT and the Austin area, including caroling at the children's hospital, competing in talent shows, and participating in UT's annual Acappellooza showcase. Absolute Pitch prides itself on its diversity and love for all genres of music, from indie pop to country to throwback hits, as well as their fierce choreography! As UT's newest a cappella group, this is Absolute Pitch's first time competing in ICCA and they are excited to continue growing and evolving!

Beauties and the Beat A Cappella is the premier treble a cappella group at the University of Texas at Austin! Formerly an all-female group, they are now proud to audition any treble singers, regardless of gender, who want to be a beauty! Since their founding 10 years ago, their primary goal has always been to create an environment of openness and creativity where they can each be their most authentic self. They believe that the community they’ve built through the last decade of Beauties has helped them through the stress of college life. They pride themselves on creating their own arrangements and choreography. Beauties and the Beat has participated in ICCA for seven years and after Covid caused a brief hit to their university's a cappella community, they’re so happy to be back on their feet! They’re thrilled to perform for you again this year!

Dhunki A Cappella is the premier competitive South Asian fusion a cappella team of the University of Texas at Dallas. Their repertoire includes classic and modern South Asian songs (Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, etc.) arranged with thematically and musically similar English songs. In Hindi, “Dhunki” means “spellbound” and “dhun” means “tune” or “melody,” which symbolizes the group’s focus on South Asian music and culture. In the six years since Dhunki was formed, they have won 1st place at five prestigious competitions, started their own South Asian a cappella competition, Awaazein, and released their debut album, Spellbound. Last year, Dhunki placed 2nd at Jeena and 1st at Gathe Raho, the ASA bid competitions hosted by University of Texas at Austin and University of Iowa, and won All-American Awaaz, the national competition hosted by ASA. With 18 members from different regions of South Asia, the team features various cultures, singing styles, and experiences. In performance, they love to showcase different voices, thematic yet subtle choreography, costumes representing South Asian brilliance, student teamwork, and more. Although things get busy between school, rehearsals, and life, their love for music and one another makes everything worth it! They are excited to perform at ICCA.

Fuse A Cappella comes from the University of Texas at Austin. They are proud of the magic that they create from a shared love of music and the connection that binds them together. Founded in 2014, the group was founded on four pillars. The first one, performance, emphasizes that music is something to be shared, not hidden. Fuse always creates and learns music with the intention of performing in mind. Their second pillar, diversity, aligns with their goal of creating an accepting environment for all members with different viewpoints and experiences. The third, self-improvement, puts the onus on every individual to better themself in order to further the group as a whole. The fourth and final pillar, family, brings it all together. Fuse arranges all of its music in house with selections from artists they love such as Panic! At the disco, Daniel Caesar, The Chordettes, and Beyoncé. They also hold workshops for members where they can develop skills such as blending, breathing, and arranging. They believe the best way to create is to do something you love with the people you love and Fuse provides that for them and more.

HardChord DynaMix from Texas A&M University is a co-ed, contemporary, competitive a cappella group! They have had unforgettable opportunities to sing on stages all over the country in Arizona, California, and even on Broadway in New York City! Aside from competing, they perform at various events across the Bryan/College Station area and coordinate the largest a cappella concert of the year called Acappellooza! They are an entirely student-led organization composed of various non-music majors.

License To Trill is Texas Christian University's premier gender-inclusive a cappella group. The group was launched in 2015, when founder Sabrina Harb (‘17) decided to honor her father’s legacy following his long battle with cancer by bringing positivity, music, and inspiration to the TCU campus through a cappella. They are blessed to be tasked with keeping his spirit alive through the joy of music and community. They were 2017 SING! Texas Champions and 2017 ICCA Southwest Semifinalists. They released their first single, "Ride or Die," in 2017, as well as their performance of "Dust to Dust" at the National A Cappella Convention (NACC) in 2018.

Noteworthy is a co-ed a cappella group at The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 2014. A competitive group, Noteworthy most recently competed in the 2022 ICCA Quarterfinals where they won Outstanding Soloist, and the Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival where they placed 3rd. The group loves to perform for the community and at campus affiliated events. Noteworthy presents an eclectic sound, bridging genres with their original arrangements. Members range from those with over 15 years of musical experience to those who have never read sheet music. As a diverse group, Noteworthy makes sure that every voice is heard and each member is valued for what they bring to the table.

OneSound is the premier a cappella group at Collin College. Singers in the group enroll in the class which is open to both music and non-music majors. OneSound has participated in ICCA for about seven years and has enjoyed competing and meeting singers from the other schools. Collin College is a two-year college located in Plano, Texas with several campuses spread out in the county.

Based out of Arlington, Texas, RISE has put The University of Texas at Arlington on the map for collegiate a cappella. RISE is one of the top four collegiate a cappella groups in the world. RISE won their 2018 ICCA Semifinal and made it all the way to Finals in New York City. In 2018, RISE was honored to perform on the historic stages of the Beacon Theatre and Carnegie Hall. RISE also had the amazing opportunity to sing in a national Cheerios ad and feature on Patti LaBelle’s album. They value their RISE family environment and seek kindness above all else.

VIBE is an award-winning a cappella group which premiered last year as the only competing group at the University of Houston. This group performs pop & R&B music.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Patrick Berry is so excited to be on this side of the Varsity Vocals judging table after performing in and directing groups in these competitions from 2014-2022! Patrick received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of New Hampshire, where he directed Alabaster Blue, and his master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Southern Mississippi where he directed Spirit of Southern and the Southern BelleTones. Patrick formerly taught at New Manchester High School Fine Arts Magnet Program in Douglasville, Ga, where he directed Bella Voce’ and assisted former ICHSA winner, InToneNation. Now living in Austin, Texas, Patrick is a professional choral musician, church musician, and freelance arranger.

Josie DeRosa is a UMich DJs a cappella alumnus with a minor in music from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She's been involved in music and musical theatre since the age of six when she participated in her first production (“High School Musical Jr.”), in which she played a very tiny brainiac. Passionate about all things regarding the arts, Josie spent her childhood and college years singing, acting, attempting to dance, and directing shows for local elementary-aged kids. She wrote a musical manual for parents talking about the neurologic effects of music on a growing brain, founded a musical theatre company which still exists today at her old middle school, and discovered her love for a cappella her freshman year at Michigan. With The DJs, she served as a president, soloist, and choreographer, winning Outstanding Choreography at ICCA. She plays multiple instruments, and has taught voice and guitar on and off for 10 years. Josie now lives in Dallas, Texas where she doesn't currently perform professionally, but can be found singing some mean karaoke on Saturday nights.

De'Evin Johnson is a choral music educator at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas. Outside of leading his own group, Velocity, his experience with a cappella music and performance dates back to 2009 and continues today. His work includes teaching and leading Madison Avenue of Madison High School in San Antonio, Texas where they advanced to ICHSA Finals. In addition, he was a performer in The TCU Horned Tones where they advanced to Quarterfinals in 2020 and were awarded Outstanding Choreography. He remains active in a cappella as a clinician throughout the DFW metroplex in public schools, for ICHSA, and collegiate-level ICCA groups.

Ire Olagbami is a singer-songwriter based in Arlington, Texas. She was a member of UChicago Voices from 2015-2019 while receiving her B.A. in music. She also studied vocal performance at Columbia College Chicago. She has been singing since middle school and has been a part of numerous choirs, ensembles, and vocal groups, covering genres from pop to R&B to gospel and more. Currently, Ire writes and releases music under the stage name “ire ola,” and leads worship at her church in Grand Prairie, Texas.

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 Southwest 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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