2025 ICHSA Southwest Quarterfinal @ Belton 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 SOUTHWEST QUARTERFINAL

Belton High School
Sunday, February 16th, 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 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

Harmony is the all-treble show choir at Belton High School. Harmony consists of 10 members, ranging from freshmen through seniors. Harmony sings at multiple events every year, including Dickens on the Strand in Galveston and around their community in Bell County. Harmony is under the direction of Kaiya Fowler. They perform songs in a wide range of styles and they are so excited to make their ICHSA debut!

Madison Avenue hails from San Antonio, Texas and is so excited to be back in the a cappella game!

Madrigal is the varsity mixed show choir at Belton High School. Established in the 1980s, this group has been a longtime fan favorite among the Central Texas communities. The group is made up of 10th-12th graders from the varsity choir on campus. They frequently perform for the community and travel to Galveston in December to perform for the annual Dickens on the Strand Festival. This is Madrigal's fifth year competing in ICHSA. Last year, they received 3rd place at ICHSA Southwest Semifinals. Madrigal is under the direction of Tonya Lovorn.

Mane Attraction is Sachse High School's co-ed contemporary a cappella group. Founded in 2002, the group was a pop and chamber ensemble until 2020. This is their third year competing in ICHSA.

Hailing from Sachse High School, Spur of the Moment is an all treble contemporary a cappella group founded in 2019. They are in their third year competing in ICHSA. Spur performs regularly at Sachse High School and throughout the Sachse community.

Vox Cor is a mixed a cappella group from Rudder High School in Bryan, Texas, deriving its name from the Latin words for voice and heart. Vox Cor has had the pleasure of performing at ICHSA Quarterfinals and Semifinals, as well as at the Texas Vocal Arts Convention, AcaTex, and the National A Cappella Convention (NACC). Last year, several Vox members were selected to perform in the inaugural Contemporary A Cappella Honor Choir at the Southwest ACDA convention in Denver. This dynamic group shares music as a common ground and collective heartbeat. Many voices, one heart: this is Vox Cor.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Reid Akers is a former member of the Texas a cappella scene who has competed in ICCA and in the Open. He served as the president of Texas A&M's HardChord DynaMix, with whom he won Outstanding Choreography awards in both ICCA and the Open. Under his leadership, HardChord DynaMix advanced to the Wildcard round for the first time ever in both ICCA and the Open. Reid arranged during his tenure in collegiate a cappella and conducted multiple workshops for other collegiate a cappella groups. He sang in a post-collegiate a cappella group, 908, which opened for the SING! Texas scholastic competition. He regularly sings in his church choir and is extremely excited to be back in the a cappella scene as a judge.

Alyssa Dunn has a long and varied musical history. She studied piano, music theory, and composition before and during her high school years, and sang in various ensembles, including varsity choir, barbershop quartet, chamber choir, and her church worship team. With these groups, Alyssa participated in regional and state-level competitions, performed in concerts, and acted as chorus lead during four school musical productions. She took her love of ensemble singing to the next level in college as a member of the a cappella group, HardChord Dynamix. In addition to performing, Alyssa frequently arranged for the group and music-directed them for two of her four years. She competed in ICCA for three seasons with HardChord Dynamix and filled in for them several years after graduating when they competed in the first Aca Open, sharing awards for Outstanding Choreography and 2nd place overall. Post-graduation, Alyssa started a professional a cappella group, 908, and competed in The Open with them as well. Most recently, Alyssa has been singing lead for a 90s cover band, Uncle Jesse's Hair, writing and recording with her R&B girl band, Sonic Honey, and singing with Austin’s premier wedding band, The Nightowls! She is excited to be collaborating with Varsity Vocals as a judge!

Gregory Hilliard Jr. serves as the artistic director of Austin Harmony Chorus, a barbershop chorus based in the Live Music Capital of the World and affiliated with Sweet Adelines International. A recent transplant to the Lone Star State, he previously served as the frontline music director of The Capital Chordsmen, the chorus of the Tallahassee, Fla. chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Under his leadership, The Chordsmen achieved the highest scores in the ensemble's 60+ year history at district competition, including a 2nd place finish. He served on the music team with The Marcsmen, six-time BHS International Chorus Finalists based in San Antonio, and has won awards singing with men's and mixed barbershop quartets, notably Headline (Sunshine District 2nd Place Quartet) and Capital Edition (inaugural Florida Mixed Barbershop Quartet Champions). Gregory is a certified music educator and currently teaches choir at a middle school in the Austin area. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education from The Florida State University, where he served as the co-creator/co-music director for The FSU Acafellas, the university's first registered all-male a cappella group (the pre-cursor to the pre-cursor to Reverb, 2013 ICCA Finalists), and his Master of Music in choral conducting from Texas State University. He maintains an active schedule as a baritone solo/choral vocalist, guest conductor/clinician, and adjudicator.

Matt Woodward is a nationally recognized music educator, arranger, and clinician with over 18 years of experience in the classroom. As a former high school choral director, Matt led his competitive a cappella group, PFC, to a national championship title in 2011 and numerous regional championships. His a cappella arrangements have been performed by high school groups across the country and his group's music video for "High Hopes" was awarded Best High School Video at the 2020 A Cappella Video Awards (AVAs). Matt's passion for a cappella extends beyond the classroom. He is a frequent clinician at national events, where he shares his expertise in choreography, arranging, and technology with singers and directors. As a former tenor with The Nile Manski Trio, Matt also has firsthand experience competing at a high level, earning 3rd place at the International Barbershop Collegiate Contest in both 2002 and 2004. Matt currently works at Merlyn Mind, an AI company focused on education technology, where he oversees onboarding, implementation, and training for their innovative classroom technology platform.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank the Belton High School Choir Department, Tonya Lovorn from Belton High School, Kaiya Fowler from Belton High School, and all the Belton High School 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 three placing groups at this event will advance to the 2025 ICHSA Southwest 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