2023 ICHSA Northeast Semifinal @ Mechanics Hall

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

ICHSA NORTHEAST SEMIFINAL

Mechanics Hall
Sunday, March 19th, 2023

WE'RE SOCIAL

We're talking about this event, and all of our events around the world!

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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 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.

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.

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

South Glens Falls High School’s Vocal Point is a curricular a cappella group based in upstate New York. A cappella accomplishments include a handful of pre-pandemic performance tours, multiple professional recording studio projects, and opening for William Shatner at the Kennedy Center as part of a 2022 Ben Folds Declassified concert series. You can find their latest EP, Elevator Pitch, on several streaming platforms. Be sure to follow VP on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @sgfvocalpoint!

For Good Measure is the a cappella group from Mohonasen High School in Schenectady, N.Y. Since 2012, they have been performing at local school and community events. The 14 members of this group are all highly involved in their high school music department, including many different instrumental ensembles, several choirs and their school theatre program. This is their seventh ICHSA and they are excited to be competing under more "normal" circumstances this year!

Saugus High School's award-winning a cappella group, Tonal Chaos, is excited to be competing in ICHSA again for the 2022-2023 year. Originally known as The Sachimes, the group has six new members and they are excited to share their message of acceptance and inclusivity to everyone in the a cappella community. The group has previously released the following statement: "Society has placed boundaries on all of us. We have each felt the sting of being placed in the margins, and of being held inside a box with invisible barriers that are a thousand miles high. Our songs, our sets, our message, is that we can own who we are, even if it means accepting that society sees us through a narrow lens. It might even work to our benefit, because when we stand up, when we smash those make-believe barricades, when our battle cry is heard…no one will ever see it coming."

Spectrum, Plymouth North High School's female-identifying a cappella ensemble, has been bringing their grounded, organic sound to audiences throughout Massachusetts since 2018. The group recently had the privilege to perform at the Massachusetts State of the Commonwealth Address and is thrilled to be performing for you tonight!

The Newtones is Newton South's only a cappella group and they are completely student-run. When they're not singing, you can find them at Kung Fu Tea and watching “Morbius” at 2 a.m.

The Thursdays is Chelmsford High School's first contemporary a cappella group, founded in 2014. The group has performed in the ICHSA every year and has represented the Northeast region at Finals four times. They have appeared on the WGBH television show "Sing That Thing" and make frequent appearances at community events in the greater Boston area. This year, the group is excited to welcome nine new members into the Thursdays family.

Chock Full of Notes is from Plainview Old-Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, N.Y. Established in 2003, this SATB group performs music from the past 40 years. With each set list, they strive to pick songs that draw from a variety of styles, including pop, pop-rock, modern movie musicals, and timeless classics, and adapt them to Chock’s unique sound. They perform show-stopping numbers with complex and addicting harmonies, strong bass lines, and catchy rhythms. They combine the power of Imagine Dragons, the emotion of Sam Smith, and the energy of OneRepublic to produce impactful and unforgettable performances. Some of their favorite songs to perform include “No Roots” (Alice Merton), “Love Runs Out” (OneRepublic), “Hold Back the River” (James Bay), and “It’s My Life” (Bon Jovi). With each performance, they aim to create an infectious energy that wows audiences and leaves them begging for more. They would like to thank their incredible staff advisors Adam Paltrowitz and Nicky Brenner for their support and inspiration. They also want to recognize their amazing student managers, Monty Boxer and Sarah Fitzgerald, assistant manager Garen Feisel, musical manager Ava Samba, and secretary Amanda Fabiano for carrying on the beloved Chock legacy.

The Voxtones is Valley Central High School's co-ed a cappella group. Formed in 2016, The Voxtones focus on contemporary pop a cappella and perform at a variety of events in their community.

The 18 Wheelers is an a cappella group from The Wheeler School. They enjoy sharing their love of music with other schools and singing to raise awareness and funding for nonprofit organizations in Providence and the surrounding area. Throughout the years, they garnered national recognition by winning tracks on BOHSA, and the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America’s (CASA) acclaimed SING compilations, which features mostly college and professional groups. Over the years, their albums have won Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) for Best High School Album, Best High School Song, Best High School Arranger, and Best High School Soloist. They have been ICHSA Northeast Champions twice and competed with the country’s top groups at Finals in New York City. The 18 Wheelers also appeared on two seasons of WGBH’s “Sing That Thing!” Most recently, they competed in the 2020 ICHSA Quarterfinals and won the Outstanding Soloist award. In 2019, their track, “Dancing on My Own,” was selected for BOHSA 2019 and they received other awards for soloists and duets in other competitions throughout the New England area. The 18 Wheelers pride themselves on bringing joy to others and staying connected with the greater Rhode Island community.

The Crescendos is Chelmsford High School's treble-voiced a cappella group. They are veterans of the ICHSA tournament, having performed at Northeast Semifinals multiple times and earning special awards for Outstanding Vocal Percussion and Outstanding Arrangement. They take great pride in their high level of student leadership. The Crescendos also love creating video content for their social media accounts. Look for them on TikTok and Instagram!

GUEST PERFORMER

Sound Off is an award-winning a cappella group based in Boston, Mass. Their contemporary pop repertoire is infused with high energy and features acclaimed original arrangements. They are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and are thrilled to still be singing and performing together after a decade of cultivating friendships and amazing memories. They aim to leave their hearts on every stage and hope their audience feels like part of the party!

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Alex Grover is the choral director at Danvers High School, where the a cappella ensembles have represented the Northeast at ICHSA Finals and the National A Cappella Convention (NACC). Alex's groups have made numerous appearances on the BOHSA compilations and been nominated for CARAs. He holds a B.A. in music from Wheaton College, a master’s degree in music education from Boston University, and a certificate in teacher leadership from Brandeis University. www.grovervocals.com

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 Boston Sings (BOSS), and has also taught at Uxbridge High School.

Alexander Koutzoukis is co-owner (among other titles) of Plaid Productions, a full-service a cappella production studio based in Boston. While attending Tufts University for computer science, he spent five years in The Beelzebubs, two of them as music director. He got his start in a cappella production with Ed Boyer and Bill Hare on two award-winning Bubs albums (Pandaemonium and Play the Game) and went on to help record and edit BATTLE and Helix, as well as about half of The Warblers’ tracks from season 2 of “Glee.” He won a 2010 Best Male Collegiate Arrangement CARA for “All the Love In the World,” was runner-up in 2012 for “Kings and Queens,” and was also runner-up for Favorite Vocal Percussionist in the 2010 A Cappella Awards (ACAs). He currently executive produces BOSS and graphic designs for BOSS and SoJam.

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, social media manager (www.amymalkoff.com), and a singer/songwriter and studio musician (www.amymalkoffmusic.com). She currently runs and manages the New Hampshire-based performance venue Club Sandwich (Sandwich, N.H.), where celebrity John Davidson performs on weekends, along with a lineup of nationally known artists on Thursdays. She was a founding member of the groups All About Buford and Deadline Poet and has appeared onstage and in the studio with acts such as 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 Maria Schrader and the rest of the Mechanics Hall staff for making this possible; our incredible sound engineer, Jill Clark, and all of 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
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 placing group at this event will advance to the 2023 ICHSA Final.

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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