DEAR FRIENDS,
Welcome to Varsity Vocals’ 28th 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 650 groups and over 10,000 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 28 years ago and we can’t wait to see how our 2024 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 MID-ATLANTIC QUARTERFINAL
Cherry Hill West High School
Saturday, February 24th, 2024
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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 19th 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 26th.
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 27th.
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
aChoired Harmony is a mixed-voice contemporary vocal group from Egg Harbor Township High School, founded in 2020 by Richard Tinsley. This group performs a diverse repertoire of music, ranging from the early 70s to the present. aChoired Harmony performs frequently in the Atlantic County area.
Dynamic Pressure is the a cappella ensemble of Forest Hills Junior-Senior High School in Sidman, Pa. Founded in 2017 by chorus director Philip Parlock II, they have competed in the ICHSA since 2022. The group is a diverse collection of actors, athletes, scholars, instrumentalists, but most importantly, singers in grades eight through 12. The group has performed in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Michigan, and has received a Superior rating at a music showcase festival.
Fermata is Cherry Hill High School West’s soprano-alto pop a cappella group. Their goal is to spread positivity and tell meaningful, relatable stories through music both in and out of school.
Western Alamance High School's Frequency is a new chapter in the long history of a cappella groups at the Elon, N.C. school. Starting as “a cappella club" in 2021, interest in joining this group was so high that it soon demanded an audition process to keep it from being a massive choir. Frequency is incredibly excited to make their ICHSA debut this year and hopes to continue the success that WA Cappella and Looking for Treble had in their years of competition, which included winning almost every award possible at both the Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds of competition. Frequency hopes you enjoy their performance and that you think they truly "rise above the noise"!
Men of Note is Cherry Hill High School West’s tenor-bass pop a cappella group. Their goal is to spread happiness and laughter through music both in and out of school.
Since their inception in 2012, Stay Tuned from Cherry Hill East High School, created and directed by Heather Lockart, has experienced wild success, which instantly became widespread. They were selected to be featured on an eight-week Lifetime docuseries, “Pitch Slapped,” which aired during the winter of 2016. During this time, they were coached by music director and arranger of the “Pitch Perfect” movies, Deke Sharon. Since then, Stay Tuned has performed at the Kimmel Center, Lincoln Financial Field, The Town Hall, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall alongside the cast of the “Pitch Perfect” movies. Most recently, Stay Tuned has competed in two ICHSA Finals competitions in New York City with the nation’s top groups. While the group has enjoyed great national success, serving their community by sharing their love and passion for music with local friends and supporters has always been their top priority. The members of Stay Tuned are thankful for every performance opportunity they are given and strive to inspire and bring joy to their audiences.
The Barnegat B-Sharps is Barnegat High School's brand new a cappella group! Previously a jazz and show choir, Barnegat's vocal music program has won many accolades, including an invitation to represent Ocean County at State Teen Arts in 2023. The B-Sharps are excited to show off their new pop-R&B style while premiering their brand new a cappella sound!
TONIGHT'S JUDGES
Neil Aaronson is a professor of physics and acoustics at Stockton College. A founding member of The TCNJ Trentones, Neil continued working with a cappella ensembles in graduate school at Michigan State University. Since 2008, he has helped the a cappella community grow from one ensemble with 10 members to three ensembles with over 45 singers, all working together to foster musical growth at their campus. He is the executive director of the ASTA/NJ Chamber Music Institute, assistant conductor of the Stockton Oratorio Society, and vice president of the Board of Directors for the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey.
Jenna Camacho is a passionate music educator in the School District of Philadelphia, with a specialization in a cappella and vocal performance. Jenna graduated from Temple in the spring of 2022 with a B.M. in music education and a minor in American Sign Language. She continues to share her love of a cappella and vocal music with her students. She has an expansive musical background, most recently serving as the music director of Cape Harmony, Cape Cod’s professional female a cappella group from 2020-2022. Jenna is excited to give back to Varsity Vocals, since this organization helped inspire her love for a cappella. She has competed in the ICCA with Singchronize, Temple University’s female a cappella group, as well as the mixed group, LEGEND which placed 3rd in the Open Semifinal. Jenna is a known arranger in the Mid-Atlantic region for high school and collegiate level a cappella groups. She also participated in the Varsity Vocals production assistant program where she had the chance to experience the Mid-Atlantic ICHSA from a different perspective.
Gregory Davis is a singer, vocal arranger, and choreographer from Philadelphia, Pa. Although he is a product of the performing arts, his passion for singing and music sparked while traveling the world with the Keystone State Boychoir. In 2017, Greg joined Temple University's OwlCappella and served as one of their primary arrangers and choreographers from 2018 to 2019. In 2020, he became music director and under his direction, both Greg and OwlCappella received many accolades for their music including several Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) nominations, a CARA win for Best Hip-Hop Song for his arrangement of "Scottie Pippen'' by Bren Joy, and a feature on BOCA 2022 with their version of Rina Sawayama's "XS.” He is currently a band leader and arranger for EBE Talent’s a cappella ensemble. He is excited to hear all of the groups tonight and wishes everyone the best of luck!
Ian Wolfe is a passionate lifelong musician who has been singing in a cappella groups since he first learned “Barbara Ann” at 9 years old. He is a singer, drummer, composer, arranger, and proud Philadelphia sports fan(GO BIRDS!). He graduated from Penn State University in 2018 and has judged for ICHSA and ICCA competitions since graduating. He is a music leader for Parkside Harmony, the current international silver medalist barbershop chorus, and performs regularly with his internationally-ranked barbershop quartet, Rule #1. Ian enjoys coaching high school and collegiate a cappella groups, barbershop quartets, and volunteering his time at youth music festivals across the region. Ian also serves on the board for the CARAs, the Grammys of a cappella music. Despite all of his musical endeavors, Ian spends his 9-5 working as a geologist, helping ensure the water that comes out of everyone's tap is safe to drink.
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
Elise Hackl-Blumstein
ICHSA Director
PA/MA Program Coordinator
Dave Rabizadeh
ICCA Director
Emily Sucher
Director of Publications
Lucy Jacobs
ICCA West Producer
Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
ICCA South Producer
Arvin Zabalerio
ICCA Central Producer
Gemma Davies
ICCA United Kingdom Producer
Emily Benjamin
ICCA Northeast Producer
Danielle Sutherland
ICHSA Midwest Producer
Adam McNeil
ICHSA Great Lakes Producer
Cameron Clemens
ICHSA West Producer
Jody Hagler
ICHSA Mid-Atlantic Producer
Bryce McCracken
Associate Producer
Bri Decerio
Associate Producer
Courtney Jensen
Associate Producer
Emcee Extraordinaire
Sara Yood
Senior Producer
Emily Flanders
Director of Adjudication
ICCA Great Lakes Producer
Andrew Poole
Director of Digital Media
Charlotte Taylor
Marketing & Social Strategy
Holli Kitching
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Producer
Leah Alrutz
ICCA Midwest Producer
Bronwyn Jensen
ICCA Southwest Producer
Christopher Witham
ICCA United Kingdom Producer
Jillian Kimberlin
Senior Producer
Christopher Hoffman
ICHSA Northeast Producer
Ben Garza
ICHSA Southwest Producer
Luke Thomas
ICHSA South Producer
Alaina Wegner
Associate Producer
Jake Yoakum
Associate Producer
Rebecca Williamson
Associate Producer
Andrea Poole
Consultant
ICHSA Director Emeritus
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 2024 ICHSA Mid-Atlantic 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!
#ICHSA