A Cappella comes to Imperial

The semi-finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) will be held this Saturday at Imperial College. The competition is presented by Varsity Vocals, in conjunction with the Union’s A Cappella Society, which is also sending three groups to compete against a range of University A Cappella groups from around the UK.

Felix spoke to Henry Harrod, the A Cappella Chair, about the progress of the competition: “Ever since the New Year came around, suddenly it dawned on all the groups just how quickly it was [coming up] ... that we have actually quite a lot of pressure to advertise it.”

The groups competing are The Techtonics (all male), Imperielles (all female) and The Scopes (mixed), all of whom perform regularly and have previously competed in local and national A Cappella competitions. There are five other teams attending.

“The fact that we’re hosting has given everyone a massive boost, compared to what we had at Voice Festival... it’s nice to have the home advantage, you’ve got the home crowd. I think that will go a very long way in the results. I mean, who knows what group, if any, will win.”

Following the competition, the winning group will go on to compete in the Final at New York’s Beacon Theatre in April. They will follow in the footsteps of Birmingham University’s Sons of Pitches, who won the International video round in 2013. The group has since released their debut EP, Not Too Shabby, and will be MC’ing the event and giving a guest performance.

“The excitement’s definitely building. There’s been a kind of...issue surrounding the ticket pricing... there are quite a few extra charges. Having chatted to people who’d done it before, I requested paper tickets... it’s been good having a lot of them at the list price”.

Despite the discussions surrounding ticket pricing, and some crossed lines regarding whether the event should be an external or internal event, with the system described as “completely arbitrary”, all the rooms are booked.

The event begins at 19:00 tomorrow evening (24th January) in the Great Hall. Doors open at !8:30.

More than 400 tickets have already been sold, with confirmed attendees including Tom Wheeler, Imperial College Union President, and Richard Dickins, Imperial College’s Director of Music, in addition to Varsity Vocals senior management. Based on the tickets sold so far, more than half of those attending will likely be Imperial students.

Henry wanted to pass on his thanks to the Sabbatical Officers and the Union staff for their help in putting the event together, and the Conferences team for their continued support.

“It’s going to be a very exciting time; there are going to be a lot of emotions riding on the night, regardless of what happens... it will literally be a real life Pitch Perfect.”

Tickets cost £15 for students and £20 for adults. Tickets can be bought online, or you could buy a physical ticket today at 13:00 in the JCR.

There will also be tickets on sale at the door.