2025 ICHSA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinal @ St. Charles High School

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

ICHSA MID-ATLANTIC QUARTERFINAL

St. Charles High School
Saturday, February 15th, 2025

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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 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.

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.

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 Acatonics is the premier all-gender a cappella group from Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md. The Acatonics have been fortunate to attend and place at national competitions, including the ICHSA and SingStrong New York. Aside from competitions, The Acatonics perform at events around the Wootton High School community, representing Montgomery County Public Schools at events around the greater Washington, D.C. area. In addition to performing, The Acatonics love being together and take every chance to celebrate this community. The group is directed by Wootton High School choral director, Keith Schwartz.

Breakwater is Severn’s mixed-voice a cappella group. They are excited to perform at the ICHSA alongside many other wonderful groups. In recent years, the group has put out EPs, earned Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) nominations, were selected for BOHSA, attended both SingStrong and the National A Cappella Convention (NACC), and workshopped with Deke Sharon and Ben Folds. They hope you enjoy their set!

The Screechin’ Eagles is a dynamic a cappella group from North Point High School. The current ensemble is made up of 10th through 12th graders who are passionate about music and performance. These students love to create powerful and lush harmonies and perform with a vibrant stage presence. With a commitment to teamwork and musical excellence, this group entertains and inspires their audiences with their infectious enthusiasm for a cappella music. The members of Screechin’ Eagles share a passion for a cappella, but many of them are also part of North Point High School’s larger choral music family. Numerous members have further distinguished themselves with selections for regional and state-wide honor ensembles. Whether at school events or regional performances, Screechin’ Eagles always soar to new heights, leaving a lasting impression wherever they perform.

Sol is a group from Severna Park, Md. and was formed in fall 2021. Sol, by definition, means both “sun” and a pitch on the solfege scale, but means so much more to this group. For them, Sol means joy, pride, acceptance, family, and a bright passion for music. In order to create amazing music, Sol believes that a group must have a close-knit dynamic and a soulful connection. They hope their selections convey that something as small as a bunch of choir kids can make a family.

The Spartones, from St. Charles High School in Waldorf, Md., are excited to host and compete in another ICHSA Quarterfinal. In addition to winning numerous awards, The Spartones have performed and worked with groups such as Blue Jupiter, Ball in the House, Resound, and Matt Sallee from Pentatonix.

Takin’ Charge is excited to return for their fourth ICHSA competition. After a majority of their group graduated last year, tonight’s group is mostly new to the ICHSA stage. They are looking forward to stepping up and Takin’ Charge. They hope you enjoy their set!

Talon Tones is an auditioned mixed a cappella group from River Hill High School in Clarksville, Md. They enjoy singing all different kinds of songs together every week.

GUEST PERFORMER

Off Track is an all-gender a cappella group founded in fall 2021. What originally began as a group of friends looking for a musical outlet turned into an award-winning group. They made their performance debut at the ICCA Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinals, won 1st place, and they are now three-time Quarterfinal Champions. Proud of their achievements, Off Track provides a supportive and diverse environment and values both friendship and fun.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Angel Amado is a lifelong musician and proud member of Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill Chorale and Congressional Chorus. He was the musical director of The Accidentals (William & Mary A Cappella, 2017) after three joyous years of membership in the ensemble. He is happy to be here today.

Cooper Burton (he/him) is a lifelong musician and has been an a cappella enthusiast since he was 10 years old. In his four years of undergrad, he was the president of Michigan State University’s oldest all-gender group Capital Green, with whom he advanced to two ICCA Great Lakes Semifinals, helped record and produce two EPs, and assisted with arranging and choreographing multiple award-winning group performances. Since graduating from MSU, he has continued to workshop and advise a cappella performances, including Capital Green’s eight-time award-winning 2024 ICCA Finals set. A member of the 2018 Ohio all-state choir, Cooper has over 15 years of musical and theatrical experience, spanning the arts of choral, dance, percussion, marching band, and piano.

Eric Neuenschwander is a choral director at Eastmoor Academy, a high school with Columbus City Schools. A proud 2011 graduate of The Ohio State University, Eric co-founded and music directed the group Majors & Minors and created an organization to help other a cappella groups form. Since graduating, Eric stays connected with Ohio State a cappella by helping the various groups prepare for competition season. In college, Eric performed with The Ohio State Men's Glee Club, The Statesmen, and The Ohio State Chorale. He developed a passion for musical theatre through his work with a student-led group, Off The Lake Productions, which went on to shape him as a performer. Eric continues to perform onstage and in the pit for various community theatre productions, and performs in improvised musicals with TBD: The Musical in Columbus and The Black Box Improv Theatre in Dayton.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Mrs. Tammika Little, principal and the admistrative staff at St. Charles High School; St. Charles High School Building Service; Mr. Timothy Bodamer, Charles County Public Schools Performing Arts Specialist; Mr. Andrew Blumhardt, Charles County Public Schools Performing Arts Specialist; the St. Charles High School Performing Arts Staff and Parent Volunteers; 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 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!

VIEW ALBUMS

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