Ten collegiate a cappella groups from the Northeast will be competing in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Northeast Quarterfinal at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.. One of the groups competing in the sold-out competition will be the New Hampshire (NH) Notables of UNH.
The Notables were officially established at UNH in 1980, making them the university’s oldest all-female a cappella group. With a membership of 15 women, the group routinely performs at dorm shows, competitions, benefit concerts, nursing homes and many other local and not-so-local events. Their most recent release is the 2011 album “Play the Way You Feel It” and they are currently working on a new album.
“The ICCA is known as being just about the most prestigious competition for collegiate a cappella, and has gained recent relevance and recognition since the release of the blockbuster hit ‘Pitch Perfect,’” NH Notables public relations officer Susan Dudka said. “With the introduction of groups like Pentatonix and Home Free, we are seeing an ever-increasing popularity of a cappella music in mainstream culture.”
The Notables also said they are especially excited due to the fact that none of their current members have competed in this competition before.
In addition to the Notables, nine other groups from the Northeast will be competing: Acappellics Anonymous (Emerson College), Distilled Harmony (Northeastern University), Off the Clock (Bentley University), S#arp Attitude (UMass Amherst), Sons of Pitches (College of the Holy Cross), The Bottom Line (Bryant University), The Rhody Rhapsodies (University of Rhode Island), The Vocal Suspects (UMass Amherst) and UMass Lowell Hawkapella (UMass Lowell).
According to the Varsity Vocals website, there will be three to five judges at the quarterfinals this Saturday, and the categories for which the groups will be judged on will be “vocal performance,” “visual performance” and “subjective rank.” All scores will then be tabulated by a Varsity Vocals staff member and other approved individuals.
From there, the first and second place groups will progress to the ICCA Northeast Semifinal at the Boston Symphony Hall on Sunday, March 26. The group that wins the semifinal championship will move on to the finals in New York City on Saturday, April 22.
“Needless to say, this is a very exciting time for the world of a cappella, and the Notables are very excited to become more involved,” Dudka said. “We look forward to meeting other groups and sharing our talent with a whole new audience.”
