Tag: barbershop

Harmony, Inc. Names The Ten

25 quartets from across the U.S. and Canada crossed the stage in Orlando yesterday for the Semi-Final rounds at Harmony, Inc. International Contest & Convention.

Rogue & Lip Service at IC&C
Rogue & Lip Service at IC&C

The day started off with outgoing Queens, Charisma, on stage as Mic Testers and after the judges worked through some technical difficulties which had FireStorm performing twice, the day was filled with ringing chords, emotion, and laughter.

The top ten quartets will return to the stage on Saturday at 1 pm at the Hilton in Disney Springs. In performance order they are:

  1. Skyfall
  2. True Colors
  3. Rogue
  4. T4
  5. Aged to Perfection
  6. Balancing Act
  7. enJOY!
  8. Tonic!
  9. Lip Service
  10. Just Jump

Something Good finished in 11th with 71.6 and will be Saturday’s Mic Testers.

Other highlights from the day include a vampire-themed set from The Karamels, HALO’s rhythmic set with a little Stevie Wonder, a reprise of the Kismet Cowgirls, and a female empowerment set from High 5s which included a song about a dress with pockets (what every girl wants!)

The finals will be broadcast live on FloVoice.

Harmony, Inc. Installs New International Board

In a night of classy pomp and circumstance, Harmony, Incorporated opened up the 2018 International Contest and Convention in Orlando last night. The installation ceremony highlighted the organization’s commitment to youth, with three youth members – Emily Travis (age 9, Area 5), Bryn Lewellen (age 13, Area 3), and Vincenza Como (age 16, Area 6) – leading the evening.

The new International Board of Directors, who will embark on the organization’s new mission, “Harmony. Stronger.” is:

International President: Donna McKay
Vice President, Convention & Contests: Donna Clarkson
Vice President, Education: Kelly Thomas
Vice President, Finance: Christina Lewellen
Director of Business Services: Jan DelVecchio
Director of Communications: Mary Ann Wert
Director of Membership: Amy Johnson
Director of Music Programs: Katie Taylor

The evening also included a treat of a performance from BHS Quartet Silver Medalists, Signature. The contest action gets underway today at 1 pm with Quartet Semi-finals, which will air live on FloVoice.

New Tunesday – October 23, 2018

In addition to all of the great variety of a cappella you can hear ’round the clock here at Acaville Radio, we’re going to bring you some bonus releases each Tuesday to make sure you’re finding all of the latest and greatest this talented community has to offer.

Here are our favorites this week – and there are a lot of them:

Pentatonix

Along with the announcement of their newest Holiday album (coming October 26th!), Pentatonix released their Nightmare Before Christmas-inspired video for “Making Christmas.” Tickets for their “Christmas is Here!” Tour are on sale now – shows kick off in Texas on November 25.

Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition

Catch up on (or relive!) a stellar week of barbershop from St. Louis. All of the performances are now available on YouTube.

Voctave

BHS continues to release videos from their 2018 International, including Voctave’s ultimate battle of the sexes with “Anything You Can Do” from Annie Get Your Gun.

AIC Chorus

One of the most anticipated events of the year – the Association of International Champions comes together during International to feature past quartet winners. It’s quite magical when they all sing together, like they did for this “Dig A Little Deeper” medley.

Vocal Spectrum

The 2006 Quartet Champions have STILL got it. Here’s a signature performance of “I’ve Got A Golden Ticket” during their guest performance at the 2018 Central States District Convention.

Ndlovu Youth Choir and Wouter Kellerman

Ed Sheeran sung by a South African youth choir with a flute player mixed and mastered by Bill Hare? It’s every bit as awesome as you think it should be. So much so, we’re including it here, even with the flute!

Rockapella

Just a head of the release of Jams Vol. 2, we’re treated with a preview of “Lady Mine (Bach vs. Beethoven)” which incorporates the classics in a way that only Rockapella can.

DCappella

It was another big week for DCappella – US tour dates were announced AND they dropped another video – this time for their all vocal version of “Glory Days” from Incredibles 2.

קוינטה וחצי Quinta and a Half

Leading the way for a cappella in Israel, Quinta and a Half released a dramatic video for their cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds.”

NoVI

The 2017 AcaOpen Finalists out of the UK just dropped a live looping cover of Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The Bristol Suspensions

A little live video release from one of the top collegiate groups in the UK, we enjoyed this cover of Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande’s “Faith.”

The Eight Tracks

Challenging themselves to create something fun in under an hour, this Boston CAL group channeled OKGo for this quick mashup of Nick Jonas and Taylor Swift. See them LIVE with Fermata Town at Spire Center for the Performing Arts on November 30!

And no videos (yet!), but you should also check out the latest from:

Birdland Avenue – Rabbit Hole
Unaccompanied – PINETONESBir
Sonata Problem A Cappella – Exposition

Historic Night For Scottsdale Chorus

In a hotly contested chorus final, Scottsdale edged out the Harborlites by 5 points to win their first-ever consecutive gold medal at #SASTL. The dazzling set also earned them the audience award for Most Entertaining.

The now 6-time international champion presented “Top of the World Medley” with extensive front row work, which included gymnastics and cheer lifts. Under the leadership of Master Director Lori Lyford, the entire package was based around jumping in and learning to fly and the joyful energy was only augmented by incredible singing. Well, and trampolines, jump ropes, conga lines, audience participation, and a hint of…rap.

Enjoy their entire package from finals:

The final scores worked out to:

1. Scottsdale (2982)
2. Harborlites (2977)
3. Rich-tones (2959)
4. Skyline (2801)
5. Pearls of the Sound (2697)
6. Song of Atlanta (2687)
7. Pride of Portland (2686)
8. City of Lakes (2605)
9. Metro Nashville (2604)
10.Buffalo Gateway (2528)

See the full scores.

Other highlights from finals included:

Buffalo Gateway Chorus built their package around the cold and snow of Buffalo, complete with hats, scarves, and gloves, and plenty of warm humor.

Skyline Chorus from Rocky Mountain Region 8 brought a robust sound with a dramatic (and funny) tribute to the superwoman inside all of us.

The Harborlites Chorus from Huntington Beach, CA, brought more dazzling front row footwork with cartwheels and lifts and lock and ring chords for days.

Harmony Heartland Region 4 was well-represented by Metro Nashville Chorus with a fairy tale search for a princess with a modern day twist that included “Brave” by Sara Bareilles.

City of Lakes from Minnesota brought a parade of costumes, music, and sound and a message of diversity and individuality, which included “Seasons of Love” from Rent.

All the way from Sweden, Pearls of the Sound transported us the burlesque shows of Paris, complete with a full drum kit, beatboxing, and cowbell.

Song of Atlanta also transported us to Moulin Rouge with a colorful story of love….and diamonds. The ladies also transfixed us with their voices and dance moves for the Can Can.

North by Northwest Region’s Pride of Portland took the stage with a full sound, excellent dynamics, and classy footwork in a tribute to “Hello, Dolly.”

The Rich-Tone Chorus out of Richardson, TX were greeted with exuberant applause and they kept that energy going straight through their set, celebrating 50 years as Sweet Adelines. The group proved to be equally entertaining in their stand and sing songs, as they were with their uptunes “Can’t Stop This Feeling” and “This is Me.”

See all of the videos from finals on the Sweet Adelines YouTube Channel.