CASA - The Contemporary A Capella Society

This year's sold-out concert at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center lived up to the proclamation of featuring the best in collegiate a cappella. Each group had a legitimate shot at the title and would have deserved bringing crowned the champion. 

Divisi's choreography was brilliantly captivating. Indiana University's Straight No Chaser's performance concept was creative and complex. The Duke's Men of Yale brought contemporary appeal to a traditional style. The Midnight Ramblers commanded the stage with their "love" set. The audience was mesmerized by the Achordants' rendition of "Mala Gente" (especially the clapping breakdown), and the Dear Abbeys delivered with a passionate zeal that was fresh and unassuming.

With a set comprised of "Grind," "Stuck in the Middle with You," When She Loved Me" and "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," Business Manager Sajay Menon of The Midnight Ramblers said the diversity of music propelled them forward this year. "We've competed in the past with very different results. We concentrated on having a lot of fun and singing songs that appealed to a lot more people. It was important for us to not harp on the little things about the competition and just have fun. Matt Roe's sky-high tenor performance set the bar high for the soloist competition.

Straight No Chaser (SNC) sang for 11 solid minutes in their concept piece about the life of an SNC member. Featuring several monologues and transitional pieces, the group sang "Also Sprach Zarathustra," Lullaby" "Sesame Street," "Ducktales," "Rescue Rangers," "I Swear," "Tearin' Up My Heart," All or Nothing at All," "The One," "Hey Ya," "Yeah" and "Straight No Chaser" during their performance. Music Director Tyler Trepp said that SNC wanted to create a unique but entertaining set for the competition. "We knew it would be a risk, but one that sets us apart. We didn't know how it would go over with the judges, but the performance shows off our voices and lets people know that we are good singers who can put on a great show."

As the largest group performing (20 members), the Duke's Men knew that one of their biggest challenges was focus. "Getting 20 guys to focus on me during rehearsals was difficult," said Ethan Heard, music director, "But the competition made us better and motivated us to concentrate on our goal." According to Heard, the Duke's Men hadn't competed since '96. "We weren't sure that it was worth our time at first, but we wanted to battle against the elitist Yale image and have fun while competing." And that they did, enrapturing the audience with their incredible renditions of "Gonna Build a Mountain" and "What a Good Boy", then making us laugh with the funky choreography of "I Want You Back."

"Bowling shirts" said Yuri Broze, music director of first-time participants the Achordants, when asked what set his group apart from the others. It was also their well-crafted performance, featuring "Brandy," "The Libras" and the award-winning "Mala Gente." President Drew Shaw elaborated, saying: "When I became president, I realized that the group had a lot of potential and the competition would raise us to the next level. We're a very young group and used this experience to get ideas from other incredible groups. Competing is a win-win situation."

The Dear Abbeys were dynamic in both musicality and presence. Opening with a solo voice on "Renegade", into an explosion of percussion and chords with the crowd-pleasing closer "Harder to Breathe", the group performed as if they had nothing to lose. "Call it unrehearsed energy," said Music Director Andrew Schwartz. "just trying to be as natural as possible while getting into the music. We get onstage and have an amazing time, something that the audience can really get into. We have a raw energy and ruggedness where we just try and try and it feels right." 

Aside from being the only female finalists, Divisi's "it factor" was their thoroughly integrated singing/dancing performance. From the first moment they stepped on stage, you could tell that these ladies were serious and seriously having fun. Divisi made the choreography intrinsic to the songs. I nearly lost my breath each time I watched the simple ending of "Woodstock" (perhaps the most emotion-filled song of the evening). Divisi is made up of athletes and artists (you just had to see the dancing in "Walking on Broken Glass" and "Yeah"), but most importantly friends. "One of the best compliments and observations we've received has been about our friendship onstage," said Treasurer Anna Corbett. "We look and actually are having a lot of fun. We do this for the passion of the music and camaraderie."
 
The guest appearances by Rebel Yell, Idea of North and Hookslide capped off an incredible evening of top-notch a cappella entertainment.

Thomas (TeKay) King has been actively involved in the a cappella world since 1990. He was one of the first ambassadors for CASA back in the early '90s. He is the Associate Editor of the Contemporary A Cappella News magazine and has been involved with the ICCAs since 1996 years.