New Tunesday – The Summer Wrap-Up

While we were out enjoy the sun, the sand, the surf, and all of the other spoils of summer, the titans of a cappella still churned out some great new music. Here are the highlights:

Pentatonix

There were a lot of mixed feelings about the Lion King remake, but there no questioning the PTX take on this classic song off the soundtrack.

BYU Vocal Point

Not to be outdone, the men of Vocal Point released their own Lion King harmonies with their cover of Circle of Life.

MICappella

It was a busy summer as always for these Singapore superstars and rumor has it there will be even more music coming soon. Get your abbreviated Chinese music history lesson now.

N’Harmonics

It is almost time to submit your applications for the 2020 ICCA season. Be inspired by the set from the 2019 champions.

Nor’Easters

They may not have made an ICCA appearance last season, but these collegiate powerhouses did take their talents to Memphis to win the NACC Collegiate Competition.

m-Pact

There’s never a bad time for Earth, Wind & Fire, especially not when covered by m-Pact, who we can’t wait to see in November for the m-Pact Vocal Festival in Kansas City.

From The Roots

SING! Texas is just around the corner, but not before you can relive this gem of an original written by Hannah Lewis.

Plus, they released another new original “Broke My Window.”

Midtown

This year’s BHS International 5th place medalists have been making quite a slash with their music videos. Have a little fun with this cover from the Goofy Movie, a follow up to their Spiderman Theme Song.

Pitch Slapped

If this is how the ladies of Pitch Slapped are kicking off the new year, we’ve got a lot more amazing music coming our way.

New England Voices in Harmony

Harmony, Inc. unleashed part of the winning set from the 2018 International Champions. Enjoy “I See The Light” arranged by Kevin Keller.

Episode 5 of Vocal HERspective with Amanda Newman

Episode 5 debuts tonight on Acaville Radio with guest Amanda Newman– the Executive Director of Varsity Vocals.

The collective wisdom of women in leadership roles in a cappella is tremendous and this episode is another great example of that. Tune in at 6:30 pm Pacific (9:30 pm Eastern) tonight or catch the rebroadcasts on Sunday at 10:30 am/pm Pacific.

Episodes are also available at vocalherspective.org and through your favorite podcast distributor shortly after the broadcast!

Special Edition of Competition Countdown!

With the #AcaOpen semi-final rounds underway, Rachael sat down with Inverse Vocals, Inside Voices, and Side Note to talk about their preparation to compete.

Tune in Monday at 8 pm Eastern (5 pm Pacific) to hear what they have to say! We’ll also rebroadcast this episode at 10 am & pm Eastern on Sunday.

New Varsity Vocals Champions Named

The stages of Town Hall and the PlayStation Theater brought a cappella to Broadway this weekend for the 2019 ICHSA and ICCA Finals.

After two evenings of performances that marked the culmination of a year of hard work from all of the finalists, two new groups joined the legacy of Varsity Vocals champions – InToneNation and the N’Harmonics.

Here are the full results:

ICHSA Finals
InToneNation ICHSA 2019

OVERALL STANDINGS
1st Place: InToneNation (New Manchester High School) – 441 Points
2nd Place: Skyline Blues (Skyline High School) – 338 Points
3rd Place: The Thursdays (Chelmsford High School) – 331 Points

SPECIAL AWARDS
Outstanding Soloist: Tyler Lewis (InToneNation) for “Dancing On My Own”
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Chris Ekpiken (Skyline Blues) for the entire set
Outstanding Arrangement: InToneNation for the entire set & Griffin Prillwitz (Free to Breathe) for “Sweet Dreams”
Outstanding Choreography: Evolve for the entire set

ICCA Finals
N'Harmonics ICCA 2019
OVERALL STANDINGS

1st Place: N’Harmonics (New York University) – 444 Points
2nd Place: BisCaydence (University of Miami) – 358 Points
3rd Place: ScatterTones (UCLA) – 352 Points

SPECIAL AWARDS
Outstanding Soloist: Tyler Lewis (HardChord DynaMix) for “Trainwreck”
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Lora Riehl (Pitch, Please) for the entire set
Outstanding Arrangement: Brett Castro (N’Harmonics) for the entire set
Outstanding Choreography: Brett Castro and Devon McDowell (N’Harmonics) for the entire set