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 SEMIFINAL

Marcus High School
Saturday, March 8th, 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

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. 

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

Infiniti is the mixed a cappella ensemble from Rockwall Heath High School, directed by Lauren Smith and Patrick Vu. They began performing contemporary a cappella in 2018, competing in both ICHSA and Acatex. In 2022 and 2024, they earned a trip to the ICHSA Finals in New York, placing 2nd in 2024. They have released music on all streaming platforms and have been featured on the BOHSA and Voices Only compilation albums.

Walk the Line was founded in 2015. They attended ICHSA Finals in 2017, 2022, and 2024, winning 2nd place in 2022 and 4th place in 2024. They have recorded and released three albums, each earning track placements on Varsity Vocals’ BOHSA albums, and three Voices Only compilations. After seven previous nominations, they won a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) in 2022 for Best High School EP and again in 2024 for Best High School Song. They are excited to share the stage with great friends across so many schools and love performing live more than anything else! 

Syncopation is the premier contemporary a cappella group at Plano West Senior High School. Despite being relatively new to the competition scene, Syncopation has already made a significant impact, becoming a Finalist at Aca-Tex in 2022 and securing the alternate spot for the ICHSA in 2023. In the summer of 2023, they released their first single, which was featured on the prestigious BOHSA album. The group leans heavily on student leadership, with a student choreographer and a student director playing key roles in their success. Syncopation members select their own repertoire and often create their own arrangements, with several of them going on to perform with ICCA groups. Individual members have earned recognition, including soloist awards in competition. In addition to their a cappella achievements, Syncopation also served as a chamber ensemble at the North Texas Madrigal and Chamber Choir Festival in 2024 and was awarded a Performance of Distinction. Syncopation continues to push the boundaries of student-led performance and musical excellence. 

The Innovation Pop Choir consists of 15 singers ranging from soprano to bass, and they are from Reedy High School. This is the first year they are doing full pop a cappella arrangements and they are so excited to make their ICHSA debut. These students are also involved in the varsity choral ensemble with whom they compete in the All-State Choir process, as well as UIL evaluation. Last year, Innovation had the opportunity to sing the national anthem at the 107th PGA Annual Meeting and were recently invited to sing the national anthem at the International Dyslexia Association Gala in Dallas. 

Lovejoy A Cappella is the premier vocal ensemble at Lovejoy High School. The group members pride themselves on bringing meaningful and entertaining performances to their school and local community. Lovejoy A Cappella looks forward to their second year participating in ICHSA, after placing 4th at Semifinals last year!

Rockwall High School's Sting was formed in 2018 as an all-treble a cappella ensemble, placing 2nd at Sing! Texas that same year. In 2021, after entering ICHSA for the first time, Sting placed 3rd in Finals for their performance of “Denim Jacket" by Sammy Rae. The following year, Sting was the top-ranked all-treble ensemble, earning Runner-Up in the ICHSA Wildcard round. Their CARA-nominated debut album, Coronation, is available on all major streaming platforms, with music featured on Voices Only and BOHSA. They are currently recording their third album and look forward to a May 2025 release! 

GUEST PERFORMER

Dually Noted is the mixed contemporary a cappella group from Marcus High School. They are in their seventh year of singing together. Dually Noted has recorded many singles and an EP, all of which can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. They were recently featured on the 2025 BOHSA album. Dually Noted has recently dipped their toes in the competitive scene , making Finals at AcaTex both times they’ve attended. This year, they even placed 3rd and brought home multiple Outstanding Soloist awards. Dually Noted strives to infuse every aspect of their performing and rehearsing with joy. They are so excited to perform for you tonight. Give it up for Dually Noted!

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Patrick Berry is so excited to be on this side of the Varsity Vocals judging table after performing in and directing groups in these competitions from 2014-2022! Patrick received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of New Hampshire, where he directed Alabaster Blue, and his master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Southern Mississippi where he directed Spirit of Southern and the Southern BelleTones. Patrick formerly taught at New Manchester High School Fine Arts Magnet Program in Douglasville, Ga, where he directed Bella Voce’ and assisted former ICHSA winner, InToneNation. Now living in Austin, Texas, Patrick is a professional choral musician, church musician, and freelance arranger. 

Wes Davis is in his 10th year as head choral director at Marcus High School, after serving as assistant director for five years. During this time, he founded a female contemporary a cappella group called Fusion. Fusion is very active at Marcus and in the community, performing at school functions, sporting events, community events, and fundraisers for charities in the area. As the group’s director, arranger, and choreographer, Wes led Fusion to a top-three finish in ICHSA Southwest Semifinals for three consecutive years. In 2015, Fusion won its Semifinal and competed at Finals in New York. Wes is a member of the A Cappella Education Association (AEA), Women’s A Cappella Association (WACA), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA), and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association (TMAA). 

Anna Gann has been a Texas choral director for over 21 years and now is a voice teacher in the San Antonio area. She has a degree in vocal performance from Lubbock Christian University and an M.S. in music/choral conducting from UTSA. She was involved in a cappella groups during college, including Sweet Adelines. Anna also was the co-director for Mac Arthur's a cappella group, PFC, for the last six years, leading the group to ICHSA Southwest Semifinals twice and to Finals in New York. Anna has been judging for ICHSA and ICCA and been a clinician for a cappella groups for over 10 years, and is excited to continue being part of this community. The joy of her life are her two kids, Chandler (12) and Ella (10). 

Alex Poole is a musician, composer, and educator based in the DFW metroplex. He has a B.M. in music education and vocal performance from University of North Texas, and is currently the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas, where he directs Blue Print. Outside the classroom, Alex is a prolific writer and arranger. You can hear his music performed by various a cappella groups around the area, in theatre shows from the high school to professional levels, and on his YouTube channel (@therealalexpoole), where he explores music and storytelling concepts. 

Hailing from the soybean capital of the world, Elliott Robinson is the current bass man and co-founder of Axiom Vocal. El is an a cappella veteran, having toured the globe with professional groups Chapter 6, The House Jacks, Home Free, and more. You also might recognize his rich bass notes as being the sonic foundation of Das Sound Machine in “Pitch Perfect 2.” In his spare time, he enjoys reading, working out, listening to music (with instruments), and being grateful that he no longer lives in Minnesota. 

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank Loaded Sound, Dually Noted, Wes David, Andrew Howard, and the Marcus High School volunteers and parents; 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 placing group at this event will advance to the 2025 ICHSA Finals

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!

#ICHSA