By STEPHANIE BLAIR Staff Writer
An array of pink, purple and blue streams of light are splashed across the stage and overhead the house lights bathe the audience in a soft yellow as they wait for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Quarterfinals to begin.
It is Jan. 31, 2015 at the Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, Ore., and this is the first and last competition of the season for Western’s two a cappella
groups: the powerhouse, all-male group, 15 Miles West and the freshfaced, all-female group, Suspended.
Across the room, friends, family and a cappella fanatics alike, have come from all over the state to watch as tonight’s performers compete for the top two spots, which will continue on the semi-finals in March. This means that for eight of the ten groups here their competitive season ends tonight.
The lights go down and Courtney Jensen, Brigham Young University alumna and vocal percussionist of the Backbeats (the Sing Off season two competitors), climbs the stage and begins the night, announcing herself as the MC for the evening. The first group to perform is Suspended.
They take the stage in Western’s school colors, wearing a mixture of black, red and white — each in their personal style — and form a triangle, with junior Meghann Thilberg standing at the front. The women start us off with the ‘90s classic “Zombie” by the Cranberries, which bleeds into their rendition of “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas, in which first year Jennifer Lindley dominates the piece with her fluid ability to rap.
The piece comes to an end and the audience is treated to two arrangements:
Florence and the Machine’s “Shake It Out” and Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries”– the hit single off of their new album “American Beauty/American Psycho.”
This final number was the biggest crowd-pleaser of the set, with lead vocals
sung by first year Lauren Hebing, whose older brother, senior Max Hebing, would sing the first number of 15 Miles West’s set.
In contrast to Suspended’s organized and ordered walk to the stage, 15 Miles West runs and yells, climbing the stage to the sounds of Western fans shouting out their names in anticipation of the performance to come.
The entirety of the set was composed of mashups, arranged by senior Jake
Yoakum, including songs by Beyoncé, George Michael, and an original section
calling out the all-male groups from University of Oregon (On the Rocks) and Oregon State University (Outspoken), which riled up the crowd even further.
“15 Miles West, to me, had the most fun on stage,” said 15 Miles West choreographer Michael Johnston. “The audience was having fun watching them
perform.”
Of the whole night, 15 was definitely the biggest crowd pleaser, receiving the most laughs and engaged applause during their performance.
The choreography in particular, courtesy of Johnston, stirred the audience up instantly. The surprise of men twerking, swaying their hips, and doing hair flips to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” was overwhelming for the audience.
“15 Miles West blew the house down,” Jensen said. “I’ve never seen boys move like that — in a good way.”
However, despite incredible performances from both Western groups, neither will be advancing to the semi-finals at Paloma College in March. 15 Miles West placed third, behind University of Oregon’s two a cappella groups, Mind the Gap and On the Rocks, who took first and second, respectively.
“You obviously always want to finish first, but sometimes things don’t go your way,” said senior Grant Harris. “We learned a lot from the experience.”
“We just wanted to show people how much fun we have singing and performing,” member David Takano said. “And if you were there, you could tell that the crowd really enjoyed our set.”
Suspended, on the other hand, did not place but were pleased to compete in their first ICCAs.
“It was more for the experience and to meet people from other groups,” said first year Brianna Williford. Sydney Culpepper said, “The experience of competing and meeting other a cappella groups was great, and we’re already looking forward to next year.” The season is over, but these vocalists are not finished yet.
“Right now we are working with Digital Production Services and Dr. Dirk Freymuth on campus to produce Western’s first official music video,” Harris said. “It will be all a cappella and made to promote [15 Miles West] as well as the school.”
Harris also hinted at spring auditions being held for the men’s group in the next few months, as 15 will continue to perform at events around campus for the remainder of the year.
Auditions for both groups will be held again in the fall. For more information,
each group can be contacted through email at 15mileswest@gmail.com and suspended.acapella@gmail.com.
For more information regarding the ICCAs, visit varsityvocals.com
