The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (NCCA, a play on NCAA), is an international competition run by Varsity Vocals, that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year. [1]
The competition sees groups from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom compete across 9 regions, culminating in the ICCA Finals in New York City. [2]
Founded in 1996 by former Tufts University Beelzebubs music director Deke Sharon and former Brown University Derbies member Adam Farb, the ICCA tournament takes place from January through April in nine regions: West, Southwest, Midwest, Great Lakes, Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, South, and United Kingdom.
The ICCA has been presented by Varsity Vocals since 1999, when the competition was purchased by Don Gooding (Contemporary A Cappella Publishing). The success of the ICCA produced two spin-off competitions: the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA), starting in 2005; and the International Championship of A Cappella Open (The Open), starting in 2017. Amanda Newman became owner of Varsity Vocals in 2008 and has since produced the events.
The 2006–2007 competition season was a focus of the book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, which followed three groups vying to win the Championship. [3] The book later became the basis for the Pitch Perfect film series, the first of which featured the protagonists competing in the ICCA.
The ICCA was also featured in the reality TV series Sing It On, which aired for two seasons (2015-2016) on POP TV. The series, which was executive produced by singer John Legend, premiered on May 13, 2015 and over the course of sixteen episodes followed groups such as the Nor'easters from Northeastern University, All-Night Yahtzee from Florida State University, Faux Paz from the University of Maryland, and S#arp Attitude from the University of Massachusetts as they advanced through the competition. [4]
The 1999 National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella tournament was never held due to financial difficulties. It was resumed in 2000 and renamed the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella after its purchase by Don Gooding.
The 2020 ICCA tournament was cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One quarterfinal, seven semifinals, the wild card round, and the 2020 ICCA Finals were cancelled.
The 2021 ICCA tournament was held entirely virtually to compensate for COVID-19 safety guidelines. It was the first time the entire tournament was free to watch.
There are five or six quarterfinal events held in each of the eight American regions (Central, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, South, Southwest, West), [5] while the United Kingdom region holds four. Generally, the top two college groups at each quarterfinal advance to the semifinals in their respective regions. [6] The winner of each semifinal is invited to participate in finals, currently held at The Town Hall in New York City, (the event has also been held in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, PlayStation Theatre, and the Beacon Theatre), where they compete for coveted title of International Champion. [7]
Each group prepares a short 10 minute performance (usually three songs) that best show the group's strengths. Primary focus is on a group's musical performance, but presentation and choreography are scored as well. Groups generally range in size from 8-20. A panel of three to five trained judges evaluates the group's performance.
According to official Varsity Vocals documents, the aspects of vocal performance that are integral to a high-scoring ICCA performance include balance and blend, quality and inventiveness of arrangement, rhythmic accuracy, interpretation of song, intonation, solo interpretation, tone quality, dynamic precision, and diction. The first six of these concepts are graded on a 1-10 scale, while the last three are graded on a 1-5 scale. These numbers are added up, then added to the number for the next section, Visual Performance. The total possible score for this section is 75. [8]
Visual performance is, while not as highly weighted as vocal performance, still an integral aspect of any ICCA performance. The various aspects of visual performance include visual cohesiveness, effectiveness of presentation, energy/stage presence, appropriateness of movement, creativity of movement, transitioning/blocking, and professionalism. The first three categories are graded on a 1-10 scale, while the last four are graded on a 1-5 scale. The purpose of visual presentation is to present, not unlike a show choir, the emotiveness of a performance through body movement. While oftentimes a group may value Vocal Performance over Visual Performance, high marks and Semifinal award-winning performances have relied equally on the strength of their movement with that of their sound. [8]
Finally, another crucial aspect of the performance grade comes in the form of a ranking box. If a judge decides that your group merits 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the overall competition, they circle one of these choices, which comes to correspond with an additive point value. So, if a judge decides you are the 1st place group, another 30 points are added to that individual judge's overall score. If they decide you are 2nd, you receive an additional 20 points, and if they decide you are 3rd, you receive an additional 10 points. These go towards the eventual rankings at the end of the night's performance, when the judges announce the first-place winner, the runner up, and the second runner up. [8]
Occasionally the event has caught the attention of national media. The greatest television exposure was three successive performances on The Today Show in 2001, culminating with a Monday morning performance by the champions, the University of Michigan Compulsive Lyres. The following year, competitors the Skidmore Dynamics were the subject of a New York Times article a few days before they took the stage at Lincoln Center. [9]
Following their first ICCA win, and appearance on The Today Show in 2008, the SoCal VoCals were featured in an article in Newsweek Magazine.
Various ensembles compete for the ICCA national title in the comedy Pitch Perfect , while a fictionalized World Championship competition is portrayed in the 2015 sequel. Pitch Perfect 3 was released on December 22, 2017.
12. Payson-Lewis, Dan. "My Real Hollywood Ending." Newsweek. 9 Aug. 2008: 32.
Collegiate a cappella ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typically composed of, operated by, and directed by students. In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term a cappella typically also refers to the music genre performed by pop-centric student singing groups. Consequently, an ensemble that sings unaccompanied classical music may not be considered an a cappella group, even though technically it is performing a cappella.
The Bottom Line is Bryant University's premier co-ed a cappella group. Founded in 2006, this award winning, student run organization performs at various events both on and off Bryant's campus during the course of the school year. The group performs a wide arrange of contemporary music which is voted on and selected by the members. To be granted membership in the group, students must demonstrate their musical ability in an audition process and callback.
The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's first a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their red blazers and romantic serenades.
The UC Men's Octet, sometimes termed the Cal Men’s Octet or the UC Berkeley Men’s Octet, is an eight-member male a cappella group at the University of California, Berkeley. Founded in 1948 as a member of the UC Choral Ensembles, the group's broad repertoire features several genres of music including barbershop, doo-wop, pop and alternative, and a healthy dose of Berkeley fight songs. The Octet has recorded over a dozen albums and is one of only three multiple-time champions of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA)—the other two being USC's SoCal VoCals and Berklee's Pitch Slapped—having won the competition in both 1998 and 2000.
Voices in Your Head is a student-run a cappella group from the University of Chicago who aim to "push the bounds of contemporary a cappella." Founded in 1998, the group has consisted of both undergraduate and graduate students whose studies range from Economics to Music to MD/PhD programs. Its unique repertoire includes original pieces, as well as an eclectic mix of pop, R&B, rock, and alternative music. Voices competes regularly in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and releases studio recordings of their arrangements.
The Stanford Harmonics are a co-ed a cappella group from Stanford University. Known for their alternative rock repertoire and award-winning recordings, the Harmonics have garnered international recognition for their performances and have been featured on BOCA, Sing, and Voices Only a cappella compilations. The Harmonics are one of the few collegiate a cappella groups that own their own wireless microphone equipment and have developed a live performance style that includes the use of electronic distortion and sound effects.
The SoCal VoCals are the first of nine a cappella groups from the University of Southern California. Founded in 1996, the group's signature achievement is being the only a cappella group to win five titles in ICCA, which it accomplished in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2018. In 2020, The A Cappella Archive ranked The SoCal VoCals at #1 out of all ICCA-competing groups.
Deep Treble is the premier co-ed a cappella group at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The group was founded in September, 1998 by Hanna Schwartz, a then-sophomore in Rutgers College and Jordan Ullman, a then-graduate student at the Rutgers University School of Education. It was the fifth co-ed A Cappella group on campus and since its inception, has been entirely student-run. The group travels across the eastern seaboard, and has participated in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella several times, making it to the finals twice and picking up several awards along the way. They recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary Season.
The Accidentals are an all-male collegiate a cappella group. Formed in 1974, the Accidentals are the oldest a cappella group at the University of Georgia. The Accidentals are typically anywhere from 12 to 17 members and hold auditions every fall and occasionally at the end of the spring
The Brown Derbies is an a cappella group at Brown University. They were founded by Darryl Shrock in 1982 and have released fourteen albums. They sing a variety of different genres, ranging from Rock, to Pop, to R&B and are known in the a cappella community for their unique use of syllables in the background vocals. They have toured throughout the United States and internationally, with recent performances in Beijing, China, Shanghai, China, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1997, the group performed for President Bill Clinton at the White House. In November 2007, they were featured on the CBS Early Show in a segment about the rising popularity of a cappella groups on college campuses, and in July 2011 they were featured on the Gospel Music Channel reality show America Sings. In January 2012, they performed in the London A Cappella Festival.
The Academical Village People (AVP) is an a cappella group at the University of Virginia founded in 1993 by a group of people who vowed to "never take themselves too seriously." They set themselves apart from other groups by being able to keep professional while maintaining their lax attitude, wild antics while performing, and their less traditional uniform of a garage mechanic style shirt. The name "Academical Village People" comes from Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the university in Charlottesville, Virginia. As of 2017, AVP, as it is often called for short, has released thirteen studio albums, including a greatest hits album, DECADEmical: Best of 1993-2003, of its first ten years in existence. The group has recorded many notable performances such as opening for Dana Carvey and Girl Talk, performing for Reba McEntire at the White House, concerts at the Kennedy Center, and performances in such countries as England, Spain, and Scotland.
BYU Noteworthy is a seven to nine-member, female Brigham Young University (BYU) a cappella group, based in Provo, Utah, United States. They won 1st place at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) in 2007 and appeared on the first season of NBC's a cappella competition reality show The Sing-Off in 2009. Esther Yoder formed the group in 2003, aided by members of BYU's Vocal Point. Noteworthy began operating under the direction of the Performing Arts Management (PAM) at BYU in 2014. One of their most popular music videos is a cover of Amazing Grace, which won the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CARA) award for Best Religious Video and has garnered millions of views on YouTube since its release. Noteworthy has released six albums since its formation in 2003. In 2018, Noteworthy performed "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" for a Mormon Message for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mosaic Whispers is a Washington University all-gender a cappella group that performs music from a variety of genres. The group has performed on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as on local radio stations such as 93.7 The Bull. The group competed in the international finals of the 2016 ICCA competition. They have progressed to the regional level of multiple ICCA competitions and the final four of a national competition to sing with Andy Grammer. They have toured nationally, opened for Ben Folds and Straight No Chaser, received a number of CARA nominations, and have been included on a number of national a cappella compilation albums.
The Northwestern Undertones are a 20-member co-ed collegiate a cappella group from Northwestern University in Evanston. Founded in 2001 by Jeni Noerenberg, the group was originally called Something Old, Something NU, but the name changed within a year.
The Chordials is a collegiate all-gender a cappella group from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. They are known for their edgy and passionate style, and perform a broad variety of music genres ranging from rock to alternative/indie to pop.
Dhamakapella is a coed South Asian fusion a cappella group based in Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in the spring of 2005 by students Mayank Prasad, Raksha Soora, and Manoj Nair, Dhamakapella's music has been influenced from both Eastern and Western elements, and mixes contemporary Western songs with popular Eastern music. Since Dhamaka's inception in 2005, the group has recorded and produced albums, EPs, and singles composed entirely of original arrangements written by current members of the group or alumni. As CWRU's largest competitive a cappella group, the group competes nationally and has won twenty-eight national titles.
Out of the Blue is a co-ed a cappella group from Yale University. Out of the Blue's repertoire includes music that spans 50 years and several genres, including pop, folk, and R&B. The group has won multiple a cappella competitions, awards, and accolades, shared the stage with Ben Folds and Sister Hazel, and performed for audiences all over the world. Out of the Blue records a full-length studio album every two years. The group's sixteenth studio album, Late Nights, was released in February 2021.
Kelley Jakle is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She played the role of Jessica Smith in the Pitch Perfect series (2012–2017) and appeared on the first and second seasons of The Sing-Off in 2009 and 2010. She is also a member of an Americana duo band, Robin Alice.
Pitch Perfect is an American musical comedy media franchise created by Kay Cannon, based on the non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin. Jason Moore directed the first film, Elizabeth Banks directed the second, and Trish Sie directed the third. Paul Brooks, Max Handelman, and Banks produced the films. The film series features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Hailee Steinfeld, Chrissie Fit, John Michael Higgins, and Banks; while the television series stars DeVine. The series is distributed by Universal Pictures.
