NC State’s pitch has got to be perfect because this year, because all four of NC State’s a cappella groups are headed to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
The competition brings together university a cappella groups from all over the United States to compete in the intense quarterfinal competition in the 2015 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
NC State has four a cappella groups, The Grains of Time, an all-male group; Ladies in Red, an all-female group; Acappology, a co-ed group; and Wolfgang, a co-ed group. For the first time in history, all four groups from NC State will compete in the ICCA quarterfinals.
“This is a great opportunity to not only have each individual group [from NC State] go and show how good they are, but also to show that NC State is a threat in the a cappella world,” said John Ritter, a senior studying chemical engineering and the music director of Wolfgang. “For us, it’s really different because we don’t have a huge music program here … this is just an extracurricular. So for us to go to all these competitions and do well, if not better than these schools that have people who sing all the time, is a big deal.”
The ICCA has seven regions, with six in the U.S. and one international region. First, a cappella groups compete in their own region. NC State is in the ICCA South.
“The ICCA is supposed to be the actual competition that ‘Pitch Perfect’ was modeled after,” Ritter said. “The first round happens when a bunch of groups submit a video of themselves performing usually three songs. It’s whatever you have to do to show this panel of judges that you’re worthy of competing in the first round.”
This year’s ICCA includes 300 groups nationwide, and in the ICCA South there are six different quarterfinal competitions throughout this region. NC State will compete in the second to last quarterfinal competition of ICCA South on Feb. 21 at Duke University. There will be nine groups performing in this competition, and four of them are from NC State.
“In this quarterfinal round, you have 12 minutes to perform however many songs you want,” Ritter said. “Everybody does their one set, and after that, the judges deliberate and decide who the top three are going to be. The top three scores get publicly posted, but only the top two get to move on to the next round.”
The next round after the quarterfinals is semifinals, where the top two groups from every semifinal compete in their specific region to be the very top group. For ICCA South, there will be twelve groups total that compete in the ICCA South semifinals. The top group from every region’s semifinals will compete in the final round.
The last time Wolfgang and Ladies in Red made it to the ICCA quarterfinals was in 2013, and Grains of Time made it to semifinals last year. Acappology went in 2012 and made it to semifinals as well.
“After the first two years [2012 and 2013], we feel like we’ve finally figured out how it works and what the judges are looking for,” Ritter said. “We took a year off from the ICCA last year to build our group and work on our repertoire to get some more songs ready. We took that time off to be able to come back now as more prepared, knowing how the competition works, and to have better quality songs to show the judges.”
Tianna Soto, a senior studying psychology and Spanish as well as music director of Ladies in Red, said she is looking forward to Ladies in Red experiencing the ICCA semifinals as a group.
“The majority of the current Ladies in Red have never been to ICCAs, so this is a huge milestone for us,” Soto said. “We’re thrilled to perform alongside some of the most talented groups in the southeast. It’ll be great to learn from other college a cappella groups, from the judges, and overall, for us to bond as a group.”
Both Ladies in Red and Wolfgang are excited to make it back to the semifinals and show what they can do.
“I’m excited to show the judges the range of vocal talent that exists in the group,” Soto said. “This semester especially, we’ve been focusing on blending, spicing up our choreography and stage presence. For the competition, I’m excited to bring all of that to the table. We want to show everyone how hard we’ve worked, and what we have to offer as an all-female group.”
“I’ve been here for almost five years now, and I’ve seen this group grow for a long time,” Bao Vuong, NC State graduate in computer science and Treasurer of Wolfgang, said. “We definitely improve every year … Now we’re getting into solidifying our sound and solidifying how we perform. We’re definitely more refined, and I want to be able to show that, especially during this competition.”
Ritter said ICCA semifinal is a great opportunity to show the judges and other universities that NC State’s a cappella groups are truly talented. He said it’s a big statement that all four groups made it this far to show that NC State is more than a university focused on engineering and science.
The fall semester of 2014 was the first time the four a cappella groups had joint auditions. Ritter said during this process, the a cappella groups spent a lot of time together, which made them grow closer and their chemistry more positive.
“Coincidentally, the same year of joint auditions, all groups make it to ICCA quarterfinal, which really proves and shows that together as a community, we can grow at the same time,” Ritter said.
Members of the all-female a capella group, Ladies in Red, sang their hearts out to two separate sold out crowds in Titmus Theatre Nov. 12 and 13. The Ladies boast a repertoire of both new and old songs centering around the “Life of a Lady” theme and have earned a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2014-2015 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
