Big, Pitch Perfect-esque things are on the horizon for UBC A Cappella as they prepare to showcase their immense talent on, not one, but two international stages.
Since the club’s creation eight years ago, the talented members of UBC A Cappella have harmonized their hearts out, earning the club international recognition in the increasingly popular world of a cappella. Building on the momentum of their sold-out winter concert, the club will be taking centre stage in February as the sole Canadian team competing in the quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. To those that have seen Pitch Perfect, the ICCAs will sound familiar as the movie’s plot centers around this very competition.
Twenty talented UBC students drawn from all four of the UBC A Cappella groups (The Choral Reef, Fermata Nowhere, The Unaccompanied Minors and The Undeclared Majors) make up the team travelling to the quarterfinals held in Tacoma, Washington where they will compete against eight other teams.
With less than a month until the competition, UBC A Cappella is busy putting the finishing touches on their performance – a performance that Jessica Tam, UBC A Cappella secretary, describes as “a lot more than just singing.”
“In the ICCAs, teams both sing and dance – it really is just like Pitch Perfect,” said Tam. “Teams performance scores are based 50 per cent on singing and 50 per cent dancing, so it’s a very performance-heavy competition, which is a new experience for our club.”
The top two scoring teams at the quarterfinals move onto the semifinals and the UBC A Cappella team is ready to make their time on stage count.
“We have 12 minutes for our set and we’re doing three full songs. Our set list starts with ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,’ followed by ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and ‘Ain’t No Mountain.’ It’s a very feel-good kind of set list and we’re excited to perform it.”
From one international stage to another, UBC A Cappella will be performing at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in a show titled Total Vocal II this March. This show features contemporary a cappella music from The SingOff! and Pitch Perfect sung by 13 groups from throughout North America. If the Pitch Perfect-ness of UBC A Cappella’s upcoming performance wasn’t enough, Total Vocal II is composed and arranged by Deke Sharon, the man behind the music of the 2012 film.
UBC A Cappella was invited to perform in last year’s installment of this show, Total Vocal, and club President Katie Sanford is excited to be invited back.
“For a lot of us, this is a once in a lifetime experience. We’re all really looking forward to the performance,” said Sanford. “It is a lot of work, though. We have had rehearsals twice a week for two months and once we get there, we will have rehearsals with all of the other groups.”
Sixteen of UBC A Cappella’s finest eagerly await their performance at the famed Carnegie Hall. However, one concern still remains — the cost.
“It’s a really expensive trip, which is the main barrier that people had to going,” Sanford said. “We’ve been trying to fundraise to alleviate that financial burden. We are going to be selling Singing Grams around Valentine’s Day, so that’s a fun thing to look out for and a great way to support our club.”
UBC A Cappella is a talented group of students who promise to shine on the international stage as they pitch-slap their competition at the ICCA quarterfinals and give the Carnegie Hall audience toners you can see through their jeans.