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Marin Civic Auditorium, Saturday Night March 15th: 8 amazing groups competing for a chance to travel to Lincoln Center and compete in the finals.
And it's likely the winner here will win the finals.
A bold statement, you say?
Let's look at the history:
2007 - BYU Noteworthy - Won
2006 - BYU Vocal Point - Won
2005 - U Oregon Divisi - 2nd place (and some argue they actually won if not for a judging snafu)
2004 - BYU Vocal Point - Didn't travel to the finals, so their replacement Mt. Sac Fermata Nowhere went and placed 2nd
2003 - U Oregon On the Rocks - 2nd place
2002 - BYU Vocal Point - Didn't travel to the finals, and their replacement On the Rocks took 3rd
2001 - UC Berkeley Golden Overtones - 2nd place
2000 - UC Berkeley Men's Octet - Won
1998 - UC Berkeley Men's Octet - Won
1997 - Stanford Talisman - Won
1996 - Stanford Fleet Street Singers - perhaps 2nd or 3rd place? (not sure)
(note: for religious reasons, BYU Vocal Point had to abdicate twice and let the second place group go in their place as they couldn't compete on a Sunday. Many think they would have won the finals at least once if they'd gone).
This track record is unmatched anywhere else in the country.
Granted, 11 years is perhaps not a large enough sampling size to have long-term statistical significance, and yet there does seem to be something in the West Coast water that results in such ICCA dominance. But what is it?
Honestly, I don't know.
* West Coast a cappella groups are few and far between, which at first would seem to be a hinderance, but when you consider the fact that the groups don't have many other colleges to visit on road trips each weekend, they have more time to focus on the ICCAs. A weak argument, frankly, as more performing usually makes a group better.
* West Coast groups are younger, and as such have the ability to focus on a more contemporary sound and ICCA-focused performance style. Perhaps true, but tradition is usually the best indicator for a group's excellence year after year, as an established tradition at a school, a solid alumni organization and reliable fan base all play a big role in an a cappella group's success.
* Many of the dominant East Coast groups don't compete. This has some significance, as many of the nation's best-known and longest-standing a cappella groups never enter the ICCAs. However, there are more a cappella groups in the East than anywhere else, so other groups should (and do) step up in significant numbers. Plus, the South and Midwest are on equal footing with the West when compared to New England.
* West Coast colleges tend to have fewer groups, which results in a larger student population to a cappella singer ratio. Some East Coast colleges have over 10 groups, which results in fewer singers at auditions, and a talent pool that's more thinly spread. Yet again the South and Midwest are on equal footing, so this doesn't seem to argue for the West.
It's not the weather (the colder it gets, the more people stay indoors, which you think would result in more rehearsal time!), it's not the schools themselves (New England schools tend to be more helpful to their a cappella groups, as the tradition is longstanding. Western colleges do not nurture their groups the same way), it's not the style (the internet has more or less eroded regional differences, with plenty of cross-pollination happening throughout the community), it's not the students (every school has students from all over the country, and all around the world).
So... what is it? Thoughts?
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