2025 ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinal @ Illinois State University

DEAR FRIENDS,

Welcome to Varsity Vocals’ 29th 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 700 groups and over 11,000 singers at over 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 29 years ago and we can’t wait to see how our 2025 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 GREAT LAKES QUARTERFINAL

Illinois State University
Saturday, February 1st, 2025

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 both the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), and the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA). 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 four or 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 26th.

The high school tournament is now in its 20th year. The winners of each of seven Semifinal rounds will advance to the ICHSA Finals at The Town Hall in New York City on Friday, April 25th.

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

Acafellaz is the premier all-male a cappella ensemble on campus. Founded in 1999, The Acafellaz have been entertaining the Bloomington-Normal community ever since. Their purpose is to recruit, educate its members on the foundations of a cappella music, and entertain audiences through their performances.

Clef Hangers is the first mixed a cappella group at Illinois State University, founded in August of 2008 by a small group of ambitious students who shared a passion for a cappella music. Since its formation, the group has lost and gained various members, all of whom have made the group what it is today. They have competed in ICCA for the last seven years and have won numerous awards, such as Outstanding Soloist and Outstanding Arrangement. Outside of performing, the group is very close and loves to spend time together doing various non-musical activities.

North Central College's Final Cut is back for their first ICCA appearance since 2020 and they are so excited to share their progress as a group. During their hiatus from ICCA, they have developed an amazing program called "Winter Tour," where they travel to surrounding schools, nursing homes, and restaurants/cafes to spread some holiday magic. Additionally, they organize a final concert in the spring semester to showcase music of varying genres, in arrangements that feature soloists and those that focus on solis within sections to demonstrate the group blend. Final Cut’s group mission is to remind audiences of the unifying power of music. Half of the group consists of non-music or theatre majors, but they all love to sing and aim to share that love with their audience in every performance.

The Naturals was founded in 2003 at Marquette University in Milwaukee and is the school’s only premier all male-identifying a cappella group. This fun-loving and tight-knit group loves singing songs from all genres, including pop, country, folk, rock, and everything in between. They have been competing in ICCA since 2015, with three Semifinals appearances, including a 4th place finish at the Great Lakes Semifinal last year in their home town of Milwaukee. The Naturals are always so excited to ramp up for the competitive ICCA season and put on a fun and exciting show for the crowd!

No Strings Attached A Cappella is the premier competitive all-gender a cappella group located at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Founded in 1994, No Strings Attached is a group of UIUC students who combine their versatile talents to create innovative performances and spread their artistry throughout the Midwest. Although they specialize in jazz, NSA performs a varied repertoire, including medleys that blur the boundaries between genres. No Strings Attached loves to tap back into their jazz roots and has recently explored jazz styles in other languages like French and Hindi! They are always challenging themselves creatively and innovating their musicianship. Currently a 15-member group, No Strings Attached’s recent projects include their first studio EP and album, titled Syncopation (2023) and Totality (2024), respectively. They were proud to place 3rd in ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinals in 2024 and look forward to competing in another wonderful ICCA season.

On the Brink of Normal is a mixed a cappella group at Illinois State University. In the Brink of Normal arranges and performs all of their own music and features a repertoire of all different musical styles.

Secondary Dominance is ISU's premier all-treble a cappella group. Established in 2004, SD has been delighting audiences ever since with their instrument-free performances on campus and around the Bloomington-Normal community. They perform a range of music, from pop to R&B to indie, and arrange the majority of their pieces themselves! SD’s mission is to produce beautiful music while pushing the boundaries of all-treble a cappella.

Hailing from the University of Illinois, The Xtension Chords is UIUC’s premier competitive all-bass a cappella group. Since its founding in 1992, The X Chords have enjoyed sharing their love of music and performance throughout the Urbana-Champaign community and the rest of the Midwest. Involved in both concert and competitive performance, this group of strapping young gentelmen is devoted to tight harmonies, clean choreography, and timely comedy. They advanced to ICCA Semifinals in both 2021 and 2022 and also achieved a 3rd place finish at Quarterfinals in 2020. The Xtension Chords have released 10 studio albums throughout their long history and recently released a new single, "G-Train," to all streaming platforms.

Voices in Your Head is a student-run a cappella group from the University of Chicago and aims to "push the bounds of contemporary a cappella." Founded in 1998, the group consists of both undergraduate and graduate students whose studies range from eonomics to music to M.D. and Ph.D. programs. Its unique repertoire includes original pieces, as well as an eclectic mix of pop, R&B, rock, and alternative music. Voices competes regularly in ICCA and releases studio recordings of their arrangements.

GUEST PERFORMER

No Comment is a 15-member, internationally ranked all-gender a cappella group hailing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. NoCo has been wowing audiences for two decades and doesn't plan to slow down anytime soon. They reached ICCA Finals in 2013 and again in 2024 as Wildcard Champions, and are seven-time ICCA Semifinalists. They have released multiple studio albums, EPs, and singles, and frequently perform across the country.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Cory Ellis got his a cappella start at Northern Illinois University, where he was a founding member of the all-tenor/bass a cappella group, The NIU Huskie Hunks. Cory received his bachelor's degrees in music from Northern Illinois University and Western Illinois University, where he studied instrumental music education. Cory currently serves as the director of choral music at Rochelle Township High School, where he leads two curricular choirs and Midnight Voices, the school's vocal jazz ensemble. He is also a member of the Kishwaukee Concert Band. Cory has been judging with Varsity Vocals for nine years.

Destinee Feliciano began her a cappella journey in DeKalb High School's mixed a cappella group Enharmonic Fusion, with whom she had the privilege of competing in ICHSA all four years, advancing to Finals in 2015, 2016, and 2017. After high school, she joined UIUC's No Comment and served as co-music director, arranging 12 songs for the group. Her music was included in their appearances at ICCA, taking the group to 1st place finishes and Semifinal appearances each time they competed. Destinee has a degree in music education from the University of Illinois and now is a music educator at Garden Hills Academy in Central Illinois.

Sague Molina is a first-year grad student studying choral conducting at WIU. He is a singer, teacher, and arranger born and raised in Arizona. Prior to coming to the Midwest, Sague graduated from Northern Arizona University where he received his bachelor’s degree in music education. Soon after, he began teaching in urban Phoenix for three years at Camelback High School where he directed the choral and music technology programs. Sague continues to sing with many choral, vocal jazz, and a cappella ensembles, as well as opera and oratorio.

A native of upstate New York, Erin (Shults) Smith developed her passion for contemporary a cappella as a member of Premium Blend, Ithaca College’s Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA)-winning treble a cappella group. Erin quickly discovered a love for arranging and vocal percussion in college. She received her B.A. in music from Ithaca College in 2010 and went on to obtain her M.A. in arts management at the Florida State University College of Music. Erin served nonprofit organizations and universities in Texas as a fundraising professional for nearly a decade. In 2022, she moved to the Chicagoland region, joining the leadership team of the Northern Illinois University Foundation. As Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, she helps NIU faculty and staff connect their transformative research projects and impactful programmatic initiatives with philanthropic support and external engagement opportunities. Outside of work, Erin continues to arrange and has volunteered as a Varsity Vocals adjudicator since 2018. She also previously served as a master clinician, workshop presenter and panelist at SoJam and briefly supported the fundraising efforts of the A Cappella Academy. She remains a dedicated advocate for the contemporary a cappella discipline and for the performing arts.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Nick Benson, Illinois State University, No Comment, Joey Rabor, Alex Sheafor, and AudioMax Productions; 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
Senior Producer, ICCA & ICHSA West

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
Senior Producer, ICCA South

Arvin Zabalerio
Senior Producer, ICCA Central

Gemma Davies
Producer, ICCA United Kingdom

Emily Benjamin
Producer, ICCA Northeast

Adam McNeil
Producer, ICHSA Great Lakes

Valentyna Simon
Producer, ICHSA West

Ben Garza
Producer, ICHSA Southwest

Bryce McCracken
Associate Producer, ICCA Central

Bri Decerio
Associate Producer

Angelina Corbin
Associate Producer
ICCA & ICHSA South

Sara Yood
Senior Producer

Emily Flanders
Director of Adjudication
Senior Producer, ICCA Great Lakes

Andrew Poole
Director of Digital Media

Charlotte Taylor
Marketing & Social Strategy

Holli Kitching
Senior Producer, ICCA Mid-Atlantic

Leah Alrutz
Senior Producer, ICCA Midwest

Alaina Wegner
Producer, ICCA Southwest

Christopher Witham
Producer, ICCA United Kingdom

Jillian Kimberlin
Senior Producer, ICHSA Mid-Atlantic

Christopher Hoffman
Producer, ICHSA Northeast

Jake Yoakum
Producer, ICHSA West

Nicole Palmetto
Associate Producer, ICCA Northeast

Tyandria Jaaber
Associate Producer, ICCA Mid-Atlantic

Rebecca Williamson
Associate Producer, ICCA South

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 2025 ICCA Great Lakes 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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