2025 ICHSA Northeast Quarterfinal @ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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 NORTHEAST QUARTERFINAL

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Friday, February 7th, 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 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 Masters School's Dobbs 16 from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. has a long history of participating in ICHSA and they always have a fabulous time! This group includes an assortment of singers with a wide range of interests and skills, intersecting here through a shared love of singing.

Encore is Plattsburgh High School's co-educational a cappella ensemble. Just created this school year, Encore is ecstatic for their first year competing at ICHSA. All group members were members of Fermata Nowhere as students at Stafford Middle School.

Fermata Nowhere is Stafford Middle School's co-ed a cappella group. They are part of the Plattsburgh City School District in Upstate New York and have competed in the ICHSA four times. The ensemble is composed of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students.

For Good Measure is the a cappella group from Mohonasen High School in Schenectady, N.Y. They have been performing at local school and community events since 2012. The 15 members of this group are highly involved in their high school’s music department, active in different instrumental ensembles, several choirs, and the theatre program. This is their ninth year competing in the ICHSA. They look forward to another great experience this season!

From Fox Lane High School, The Foxtones is a co-ed a cappella group formed in January 2024. They rehearse weekly after school to prepare for school and community events, festivals, and competitions. They are excited to be performing in their first ICHSA competition and are thrilled to be a part of this experience.

Rhythm on Rye is a student-directed a cappella group from Rye, N.Y. They love bringing a cappella music to various events in their school and throughout the community. They are proud to be back in ICHSA, having won several awards over the years and advanced to the Semifinals. With the guidance of their faculty advisor, they arrange and choreograph to their music. Rhythm on Rye is grateful for their ICHSA experiences over the years.

The Stissingers is Pine Plains' finest (and only) a cappella group, blending harmonies as tight as their small-town community. Known for their barn-raising basslines and tractor-tempting tenors, this group brings big sound to a place where the cows outnumber the people. Whether they’re serenading the sheep or belting out bangers at the local farmer's market, The Stissingers prove that you don’t need instruments when you’ve got charm, humor, and some very patient neighbors.

South Glens Falls High School’s Vocal Point is a curricular group based in upstate New York. In recent years, they have performed as the opening act for the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, Foreigner at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and William Shatner and Ben Folds at the Kennedy Center. You can find their two most recent EPs, one fifteen and Elevator Pitch, on all major streaming platforms. Be sure to follow them on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. @sgfvocalpoint

GUEST PERFORMER

The Rensselyrics is RPI's oldest all-gender a cappella group founded in 1991. Since its founding, the group has self-arranged all of its music. More recently, they have expanded to recording, mixing, and mastering their own albums. Semesterly, they perform at RPI events, locally in the Capital Region, and at regional competitions. When they aren't performing, you can find the 'Lyrics hanging out at Jacob Alejandro, playing board games, and exploring Upstate New York! Find their newest album, Eclipse, anywhere you listen to music, and stay tuned for their upcoming album, Vertigo! Follow them @TheRensselyrics on social media to stay up to date on performances!

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Emily “Em” Benjamin has been singing a cappella for nearly 15 years! Her collegiate years performing with University of Chicago’s Voices in Your Head saw many of the group's accomplishments, including two 2nd place finishes in the ICCA, the release of their award-winning album, Lights, and performing for President and First Lady Obama at the White House. Since college, Em has been active in the a cappella community as a singer, volunteer, music-director and producer. She served as music director for post-scholastic and grad school a cappella groups and recently made her musical theatre directorial debut with “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” at the Majestic Theatre in Manchester, N.H. She has also worked as ICCA producer for the Northeast Region since 2022. When not surrounded by music, Em works in clinical research and spends her free time exploring beautiful New Hampshire, where she lives with her fiancé, and their beagle, Flapjack.

Holden Maiorana is the Director of Choirs at Spackenkill High School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he founded the school's first a cappella group, Spackappella. He holds music education degrees from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam (B.M.) and Ithaca College (M.M.). He is the former music director of The Potsdam Pitches, a 2018 ICCA Finalist. Domestically, Holden and his groups have performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Beacon Theatre on Broadway. He has also conducted abroad in France, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Holden is a frequent music director and accompanist in the Hudson Valley and regularly presents topics in music education research at regional, state, and national conferences.

Kevin Trapasso has spent the last 16 years involved in Varsity Vocals programs. While majoring in choral music education at Arizona State University, he helped found the school’s first all-male a cappella group, created an annual statewide a cappella festival, and eventually led this group to a Quarterfinal win in his senior year. Since then, he earned a master’s degree in choral conducting and has taught secondary, collegiate, and professional vocal ensembles around Florida and New York. He is so pleased to judge the very competition that helped him grow tremendously as a musician and educator and looks forward to a great night of music!

Kayla Whisenhunt first entered the a cappella scene as a high schooler, founding her school’s first a cappella groups, Pitch Please and ToneDef. She graduated from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 2022, where she sang with the Potsdam Pitches. In 2020, she won Outstanding Arrangement at ICCA Quarterfinals, and her contributions as assistant choreographer also earned her Outstanding Choreography for the entire set at the same competition. Kayla's arrangements have been reviewed by the The Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB), and she was nominated for a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) in the Best Mixed Voices Collegiate Arrangement category for her arrangement of “God is a Woman.” She is currently the co-music director of Noise of Summer a cappella and teaches fifth through seveth chorus and general music at the Greater Johnstown School District.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank The Rensselyrics; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the EMPAC, especially Kim Strosahl; 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 Northeast 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

#ICHSA