2025 ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinal @ Jenison Center for the Arts

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

Jenison Center for the Arts
Saturday, February 8th, 2025

WE'RE SOCIAL

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

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@varsityvocals

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

The MSU Accafellas is the only competing tenor/bass a cappella group at Michigan State University. Since 1996, The Accafellas has been sharing its unique personality with the a cappella and MSU communities in various concerts and community events. They hope to entertain audiences with tight harmonies, groovy rhythms, and a boisterous stage presence! Founded by a group of people who share a passion for the human voice, The Accafellas strongly believe that live music should be both impressive and entertaining.

Capital Green is Michigan State’s oldest co-ed competitive a cappella group! Every year, they perform at gigs, hold concerts, and compete in ICCA. Last year, they made history as the first-ever Michigan State group to advance to ICCA Finals! This group of driven and passionate individuals emphasizes having fun. Outside of singing, you can catch them playing card games or enjoying a good triple dipper at Chilis. They are thrilled to welcome five incredible new members to the CG family and look forward to an exciting ICCA season!

Founded in 2006 as the first co-ed a cappella group on Grand Valley's campus, Euphoria has grown significantly over its 19-year existence. The group has established itself in the competitive a cappella community over the last few years. They were the 2023 VoiceJam champions and Fan Favorites. They have participated in ICCA throughout the years and were Semifinalists in 2022 and in 2024. Euphoria is a fun-loving group that emphasizes bonding through music. The group is in the process of releasing an EP and looks forward to sharing their beautiful music with a wider audience.

The Expressions, from Macomb Community College, is a long-established elite ensemble on campus, originally designed to perform jazz music, either accompanied or a cappella. In 2017, the group transitioned to contemporary a cappella music. Selected by audition, the group members are students of the community college’s music program. The Expressions perform at the college extravaganza shows, as pre-show entertainment in the lobby of the college PAC, and throughout the community.

The G-Men, or Gentlemen for long, is a group of friends who love making music together. Though they were “officially” founded in 1995 at the University of Michigan, the group’s origins are much older. Legend says that the Greek Titan Prometheus was but a swaddling babe when the first plans for G-Men’s “Mr. Brightside” arrangement began to materialize. That’s a true fact. Outside of rehearsal, you can find them playing with hot wheels, slowly invading the southern border of Canada, and following squirrels after dark to see where they are REALLY going. They also sing sometimes. Give it up for the G-Men!

GrooVe is an auditioned co-ed a cappella group. Since 2009, GrooVe has been performing on Grand Valley's campus and in the surrounding Grand Rapids area, as well as competing in talent shows, a cappella-offs, and the ICCA (yes, “Pitch Perfect” style!). When not singing, you can probably find them eating half-off apps at Applebee’s or at group movie night!

Ladies First, the only all-treble a cappella group at Michigan State University, was founded in 1985. This award-winning group is approaching its 40th anniversary and they’re proud to represent the legacy of Ladies before. Ladies First is 16 members strong and looks forward to another year of embodying their motto of “honest, grounded, powerful.” They celebrate each individual member’s musicality and passion, along with a strong group bond and a collective love for making music together. If you would like to see more of them, follow all of their socials @Ladiesfirstmsu.

Melodytroit is Wayne State University's only a cappella group, as well as its only non-academic singing group. Known for their deep Detroit roots, they have performed on campus, the Detroit Zoo, a Detroit Pistons game, and more. They are an extremely diverse group, with only two members studying music. Melodytroit is a spirited community and its members support one another outside of rehearsal and performances. They deeply value group bonding and spend lots of time exploring Detroit together. Under the leadership of president Braeden Milbrandt and music directors James Gooldy and Claire Hall, this will be their second year competing in ICCA and they cannot wait to share their explosive stage presence this season!

Formed in 1996, Purple Haze has been singing at Northwestern University for 28 years! Completely student-run, they rehearse several times a week and put on a killer show every quarter. Aside from campus shows, Purple Haze performs throughout the Chicagoland area, entertaining audiences at weddings, other universities, public schools, elderly homes, and more! Purple Haze has released 10 studio albums, two singles, and one EP, all available for streaming and download. Their covers of "Bass Song" and “Pretty Hurts” were selected for the 2022 and 2017 track lists of Voices Only, an annual compilation album composed of songs from collegiate groups around the world. A cappella podcast “Mouth Off” called them "the best you're going to hear out of the whole Midwestern United States" and "the group that everyone wants to party with!" Purple Haze competes biennially in the ICCA, most recently winning a 2023 Outstanding Soloist award for alto Sophia Talwalkar (‘24) and a 2023 Outstanding Choreography award for alto Freedom Gobel (‘23) and baritone Matthew Millin (‘24), along with progressing to the 2023 Great Lakes Semifinals! Most importantly, Purple Haze is a PHamily and loves singing together!

State of Fifths is an award-winning co-ed a cappella group, founded in fall 2008 at Michigan State University. Fifths consists of undergraduate students across all different majors that come together to make innovative, heartfelt music and incredible memories. They arrange and perform a wide variety of music and work hard to sound their best for every gig, concert, and competition.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Jacob Berglin is an assistant professor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., where he teaches courses in choral music education and directs Amphion, the university's auditioned tenor/bass ensemble. He began performing contemporary a cappella as an undergrad in Indiana in the early 2000s, arranging and performing with friends throughout college. Afterward, he continued performing while teaching middle and high school choirs, incorporating a cappella into his classes. During his Ph.D. at Northwestern, a research project with one of the a cappella groups on campus reignited his passion for helping a cappella grow in schools across the country.

Lindsay CieChanski is the Director of Vocal Music at Skyline High School, which houses four choirs, including the a cappella ensemble, Skyline Blues. Lindsay graduated from the University of Michigan in 2002 with a dual major in voice performance and choral music education, and completed her master’s degree in music education in 2007, also at U of M. She has worked as a guest clinician and enjoys participating in music conferences. Lindsay has also directed musicals and performs in several ensembles. Lindsay has led Skyline’s choirs to successful performances at ICHSA, Solo and Ensemble, and Choral Festival. Skyline Blues has performed for numerous events around the Ann Arbor Community and has consistently competed in ICHSA. Lindsay has greatly enjoyed her time working with Varsity Vocals and is inspired to continue promoting the art of a cappella singing.

Grant Hendrickson majored in music education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, he sang with and directed the University of Wisconsin men's a cappella group, The MadHatters, from 2001-2005. After graduating in 2005, Grant moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter. After playing the Los Angeles club circuit for a couple years, he joined The Cat's Pajamas vocal band and traveled the world singing on cruise ships and national tours for four years. Grant helped launch The Cat's Pajamas at the Dutton Theater in Branson, Missouri in 2010, where they performed 230 shows a year. Grant became a music director for Second City and toured with them on cruise ships in 2011-2012. Grant sang with the legendary Alley Cats for three years and performed in multiple national tours from 2012-2015. He has taught private voice and piano lessons for 15 years. Grant has owned and operated Entertain You Productions (EYP) since 2010, a live entertainment company now based in East Lansing, Mich. EYP focuses on wedding entertainment and corporate events.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Joseph Aquino, Maggie Heil, Maren Case, Isaiah Hawkins, Kristina Porcalla, Brian Bennink, and Jenison Public Schools; 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

#ICCA