2025 ICHSA West Quarterfinal @ Sherwood 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 WEST QUARTERFINAL

Sherwood High School
Friday, January 24th, 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

Free to Breathe was formed in 2008 after attending ICHSA Finals as audience members and has been active ever since! FTB has performed throughout the nation, at venues including Disneyland, Carnegie Hall, and the 2019 ICHSA Finals in NYC.

The Sherwood High School Mixolydians is a group of fun-loving musicians from Sherwood High School. They love spending time together just as much as they love singing and creating crowd-pleasing choreography. The Mixolydians have participated in the Rose City Sing-Off and ICHSA for the past 12 years and they are excited to perform again tonight! They most recently won 2nd place at their 2024 ICHSA Quarterfinals and progressed to ICHSA Semifinals in El Segundo, Calif.! The Mixolydians have received numerous awards over the years for Outstanding Vocal Percussion, Outstanding Arrangement, and Outstanding Choreography.

The Sandy High School Pionaires are excited to participate in the ICHSA for the second time! Hailing from the slopes of Mt. Hood, this group is composed of students from Sandy, Ore. and the surrounding cities of Boring, Welches, and Rhododendron. A keystone of this group is connecting with their community and they are thrilled to make more connections through this competition.

Soul'd Out is an auditioned contemporary a cappella Choir at Wilsonville High School in Wislonville, Ore. The group was established in 2007 and is still going strong. It is composed of sophomore through senior high school students from all musical backgrounds and vocal types. They pride themselves on their diversity of character, timbre, and musical selections. The group has performed at ICHSA for many years and has made it all the way to ICHSA Finals. Soul'd Out has also competed at the Rose City Sing Off in Portland and earned numerous awards over the years.

Sound Check is Oregon City High School’s premier vocal ensemble. The group is composed of 19 friends who love making music together. In the past eight years since its creation, Sound Check has been developing their sound and presence in the community. Sound Check has three albums available on iTunes and other music platforms such as Spotify, Amazon, and GooglePlay. Their newest album, Ignite, has reached people across the world! In addition to recording, Sound Check loves creating music videos for the Oregon City High School Choir YouTube channel. This Sound Check’s first year performing in the ICHSA and they are very happy to be included!

Soundscape is an a cappella group from West Salem High School that focuses on contemporary music. They gained recognition by placing in the top three at ICHSA Quarterfinals during their first two years of competing, as well as winning the Rose City Sing-Off for two consecutive years. The group performs a range of songs which showcase their vocal harmonies. Their shared commitment to music and teamwork gives each member a strong sense of community. As they continue to grow, Soundscape aims to push their creative boundaries and inspire audiences.

Strawberry Serenade is Lebanon High School's first and only a cappella group! Named in honor of the Lebanon community's famed annual Strawberry Festival, Strawberry Serenade specializes in performing pop, contemporary, and jazz music. This will be their first-ever year competing in ICHSA and they are excited to take this step into the world of competitive a cappella!

Synergy is the treble a cappella ensemble from the Oregon Children’s Choir, made up of treble singers from surrounding high schools in Eugene/Springfield, Ore. Founded in the fall of 2012, Synergy was created by Evynne Hollens, co-founder of Divisi. Brought together through a love of music and desire to sing songs of strength and empowerment, these singers share a unique bond both onstage and off.

Vivace is Lincoln High School’s only student-led a cappella ensemble and has become a place for students to develop leadership skills along with their passions for music and performance. This group is determined to be the best they can be, which takes a lot of commitment and hard work for a student-led group! Each member of this tight-knit ensemble brings a unique talent, creating a collective synergy that is nothing short of magical. Vivace has competed in various competitions, including ICHSA, in past years and is excited to be back. Vivace won the Rose City Sing-Off in both 2017 and 2018, took home the ICHSA Outstanding Arrangement award in 2019, and placed 4th at State this past year.

TONIGHT'S JUDGES

Hannah Abercrombie is an enthusiastic and dedicated music educator in her eighth year of teaching and second year as the Director of Choirs at McKay High School in Salem, Ore. There, she directs the nationally acclaimed contemporary a cappella group, Scots-Appella, and four choral ensembles. Hannah also assistant-directs the McKay High School Marching Band with a focus on visual technique and creativity. Scots-Appella has competed and placed on local and national stages, including ICHSA. Last year, Scots earned the Champion title at ICHSA Quarterfinals and Semifinals and ultimately placed 3rd in the 2024 Finals (2nd in 2023). This year, Scots-Appella will be featured at the LAAF Showcase in February 2025. After receiving her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Oregon, Hannah started her career at Douglas High School in Winston, Ore., where she taught band, marching band, and choir for six years, as well as an a cappella class. Outside of work, Hannah loves spending time with her fiancé, Andrew, and snuggling with her two kitties, Meelo and Momo. She enjoys teaching in her hometown of Salem and is grateful for her amazing community of people and music.

David Fowler is an a cappella producer, performer, and entrepreneur who has been working exclusively within the aca-verse since 2014. He started out making multitrack Bieber covers in his bedroom at 16 years old, and has since earned millions of views, produced dozens of albums while collaborating with the likes of Peter Hollens and Home Free, and works with his group, Verdant, to popularize vocal music in the Pacific Northwest.

Rami Holmes has always been enamored with vocal music. His a cappella career began at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., where he was a member of the all-male group Hooked on Harmonics from 2016-2020 and director from 2018-2020. He went on from there to join the University of Oregon's Mind The Gap, and directed them from 2023-2024, leading them to 1st place at ICCA West Quarterfinals in 2024. Rami is currently the Artistic Director of Verdant, a professional a cappella group based in Eugene, Ore. He loves the communal nature of vocal ensembles and believes that they fully display the power of collaboration in music and beyond.

Raymund Ocampo is a conductor with experience leading choirs of different age levels and talents, including symphonic choruses, and high-level ensembles. Raymund serves as Music Program Chair and Director of Choral Studies at Linn-Benton Community College. There, he conducts the highly acclaimed chamber choir and concert choir and teaches courses in music appreciation, theory, world music, and music fundamentals. Previously, Raymund served as the Bonita L. Bass Memorial Assistant Conductor for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, and has prepared choruses for symphonic conductors Michael Francis, Evan Rogister, Earl Rivers, Joshua Weilerstein, Jeff Tyzik, Stuart Malina, and Danail Rachav. His other leadership roles in the music world range from serving as Director of Music at Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, to leading public school choral programs in Ohio and Indiana. In addition, Raymund founded and served as artistic director of 'ascend,' a professional eight-member vocal ensemble dedicated to performing new works in unique ways. Raymund holds a Master of Music in choral conducting from the University of South Florida, where he studied under the guidance of Dr. James Bass, and a Bachelor of Music in music education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., where he studied with Dr. René Clausen and Dr. Paul Nesheim.

Brooke Rencher is a Portland State alum with over 20 years of vocal and instrumental performance experience. She was a member of PSU’s The Green Note, directing the group in her final year, and directed and arranged for The Central Catholic High School Ramophones in 2019 and 2020. She judged for the Rose City Sing-Off for several years and is currently a member of the Portland Lesbian Choir and their a cappella ensemble, Resonate.

SPECIAL THANKS

Varsity Vocals would like to recognize and thank photographer Jake Young (jakeyoungphotography.com); sound engineers, Pete and Trina from Yoakum Sound and Light; and all the staff and Boosters of Sherwood High School; 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 West 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