Lights dim, the curtain rises: ICHSA has begun. With only their voices and their dance moves, groups of high school students from all around the country are going to sing their hearts out for a chance to compete against the best of the best in New York City.
Both of Harrison’s a cappella groups, the treble Take Note and the mixed voice DYNAMIX, will compete in quarterfinals March 1st with hopes to make it to semifinals on March 15th. Harrison a cappella groups have qualified for semifinals several times, including both groups qualifying last year, and have won semifinals and advanced to finals in NYC once, in 2019.
The International Competition of High School A Cappella (ICHSA for short), is a worldwide a cappella singing tournament where groups compete and are judged for things such as balance/blending, arrangement of song, tone, diction, visual cohesiveness, stage presence, and many more. Groups qualify for ICHSA by sending a video of their group singing an a cappella arrangement (meaning it doesn’t have any instrumental accompaniment) to Varsity Vocals, the group that runs ICHSA and the college version, ICCA. If the group meets certain standards, they are accepted into the competition. Once you’re in the competition you will have a quarterfinal where you compete against groups in a similar location to you. The top 2 groups from each quarterfinal advance to semifinals, and the best group from each semifinal competes in New York City for the finals.
Each group has ten minutes on stage with a set of three to four songs. Typically, the opener aims to get the attention of the audience and have a strong start to their set, whereas the middle song, the ballad, slows down a bit and makes the audience feel emotion. Finally, the closer brings the set back together and is the last impression of the group before they leave the stage. Each song consists of choreography that goes along with their performance.
My personal experience at ICHSA was amazing, I was a member of DYNAMIX last year and we went against some tough opponents. We placed 2nd at quarterfinals, qualifying for semifinals. Noelle Ley, the previous director’s assistant of DYNAMIX, won outstanding soloist and Maddie Hall, the previous choreographer of Take Note, got the outstanding choreography award. It was a fun experience and a good chance to connect with other teenagers with similar passions to me. Anna Adams, the choir teacher and director of DYNAMIX and Take Note, said that her favorite part of ICHSA was “…seeing how fired up and excited our A Cappella students get for competition. They love working and perfecting our vocals and choreography.” She also went on to say, “it really brings the groups super close together in the weeks leading up to the first round of competition. There is so much that goes into our competition sets!”
To prepare for competition, both a cappella groups rehearse every morning during zero bell, from 7-8 am. During competition season, they also rehearse twice a week after school, really showing the dedication and involvement of the A Cappella students at Harrison.
You can come to ICHSA Quarterfinals Friday March 1 or Semifinals Friday March 15 hosted by us right here in Harrison, Ohio. Some groups to look for if you attend quarterfinals include Above the Noise, Alpha, Ars Nova, Enharmonix, Polarity, Touch of Class, Voices, and our very own Take Note and DYNAMIX. We hope you decide to give ICHSA a chance and come support our school’s music department! Tickets for ICHSA quarterfinals can be found here!
