Jason Moore’s musical comedy Pitch Perfect afforded viewers a look into the previously underrated world of collegiate a cappella competitions. The film’s hype soared at an ideal time, for the DVD release precluded the nation’s largest a cappella competition by mere weeks.
Although wildly exaggerated, parodied and fictional, Pitch Perfect introduced audiences to the intense practices, rivalries, stresses and — most importantly — the raw talent behind college a cappella groups.
Hopkins excitingly partook in its own Pitch Perfect experience on February 23 with the long-awaited International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
ICCA is produced by Varsity Vocals, an organization dedicated to globally recognizing and encouraging talented a cappella groups at both the high school and collegiate level. Currently entering its 17th season, Varsity Vocals faces its most gifted and determined competition yet. Hopkins entered three of its own well-endowed teams: The Vocal Chords, The AllNighters and The Octopodes, who hosted the ICCA’s here for the fourth consecutive year. Joined on stage by other Maryland and D.C. groups, Shriver Hall’s sold-out theater witnessed a performance for the books.
The Octopodes’ Music Director, Peter Yang, an obvious crowd favorite, provided insight into the preparation for and stiff competition met at the ICCA Quarter Finals.
“We start preparation generally at the beginning of Intersession. It’s not always smooth because not all members are always back, but we try our best,” Yang revealed. He further explained that ICCA planning involved picking a set, arranging the songs, running the music, choreographing, putting it all together and fine-tuning the professional details.
“Each year it varies, but sometimes we use songs from our fall semester concert and change [or] revamp the arrangements to make them more competition worthy,” Yang explicated. “This year we took two songs from our fall concert — “Who You Are” and “Shake it Out” — and completely revamped the arrangements to build more heightened moments and arc. “Locked Out of Heaven” wasn’t picked until over halfway through Intersession,” Yang said of pre-competition preparation.
Audience and a cappella members (perhaps influenced by the biting rivalry presented in Pitch Perfect) hoped to see rivalries contend.
“This year was out of this world. So many groups were literally gunning for semi’s and I could see the huge amounts of work put in from every group,” Yang described of the competition. “I am so proud of the work accomplished by all of the Hopkins groups. I think between the three of us, we put up a huge fight and gave an incredible representation of Johns Hopkins. In particular, this year I was blown away by the innovative and high caliber showmanship of The AllNighters and the incredibly tight choreo and innovative arrangements of the Vocal Chords! Additionally, the Faux Paz is never a team to take lightly.”
Faux Paz competed in the ICCA semifinals the past two years, making this the third year they will come up against The Octopodes.
“Squawkappella is also a really up-and-coming powerhouse group, but to be honest, everyone put on a really intense and awesome show this past Saturday,” Yang said.
As attendees know, The Octopodes walked away with a pile of awards for Peter Yang’s Outstanding Arrangement, an Outstanding Soloist and First Place at Quarterfinals. However, that doesn’t mean that the Octopodes weren’t nervous before the show.
“In the midst of the pumping adrenaline throughout the entire day and leading up to the competition, it’s hard to measure something like confidence. For me at least, nerves were getting the best of me even up to the point of being backstage,” Yang said. “That being said, I’d seen the immense amount of work that every individual of The Octopodes had put in and I could see how the set had found a very special place in everyone’s hearts. The competition was fierce and I could not really gauge how we entirely matched up and couldn’t begin to speculate how we’d place or how we’d fare, but what I did know was that we had prepared nonstop and made it to a point where I was confident that everyone in the group would give it their all and just leave it all on stage. And with that I can be immensely proud of my group!”
The Vocal Chords and The AllNighters also gave noteworthy performances. In fact, the dashing, vested men of The AllNighters were recognized with Third Place overall (a highly contested outcome) and honored as the group with most Outstanding Choreography.
Without question, the group’s rendition of Beyonce’s “Love on Top” energized and enthralled audience members more than any other competition performance. The captivating freshman Jaquain Sloan surprised viewers with his vest change, pants removal, sassy high kick and — the move to go down in Hopkins history — a final drop into the splits that left attendees roaring in the only standing ovation of the night. The AllNighters brought the audience to life and set a higher standard for a cappella choreography.
Hopkins continues to hold a stake in this ICCA season, with The Octopodes moving forward to Semi-Finals at Vanderbilt on March 23. “We’ll continue to work hard and prepare and gun for finals!” Yang promised.
Indeed, the Hopkins community cannot wait to see the team rightfully take home the gold.
