Three out of Hofstra’s four student a cappella groups on campus performed at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) this year, the “Pitch Perfect” singing competition’s first year back in person since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world two years ago.
“More than half the group has never competed in a live and in-person ICCA competition before; the current seniors were freshmen during the last in person quarterfinal,” said Lucas Pepin, The Hofbeats’ public relations chair. Due to COVID-19 precautions, The Hofbeats could not perform live for their quarterfinal, but all sang and danced together in the same room for their video submission.
Sigma’cappella and The Hofbeats recorded their sets for the ICCA Northeast Quarterfinals, while Makin’ Treble performed last Saturday, March 5, at the New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York City. Makin’ Treble’s quarterfinal round saw performances from nine other a cappella groups from schools including New York University, Fordham University, Pace University, Wagner College, the University of Connecticut (Uconn) and Hunter College. NYU and Pace had the monopoly on qualifying a cappella groups that night, with three from the former and two from the latter.
Of the ten performances, only Hofstra’s Makin’ Treble, and Vocal Synergy, from Wagner College, were all female. Makin’ Treble had a standout musical set and performance with “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Drive, “Till Forever Falls Apart” by Ashe and FINNEAS, “Reckless” by Madison Beer and “The Cure” by Little Mix. The performance featured solos from students Marisa Drzewiecki, Christy Chohrach, Christina Riggione, Gianna DeFilippis, Sophie Roy, Hannah MacDonald, Jessica Wimmenauer and Julianna Apodiacos. Makin’ Treble’s entire set was choreographed by MacDonald, a junior education and musical theater major.
DeFillippis, the president of Makin’ Treble, said this was her first live ICCA performance since she joined the group two years ago.
“Getting to perform our set live with such a great group of talented people was an experience I will never forget,” DeFilippis said. “Everyone worked so hard, putting in about five hours a day for five days straight before the spring semester started.”
Out of the ten performances of the night, only three groups placed. UConn came in first, scoring a total of 400 points, NYU’s Vocaholics came in second with 362 points and Frequency from Pace University came in third place with 301 points.
In their quarterfinals round, The Hofbeats placed in third with 316 points and ended up winning the Northeast Semifinal wildcard round, which will lead them to the Northeast Semifinals in Boston on Sunday, March 27.
The Hofbeats’ quarterfinals set consisted of a cappella arrangements of the songs “Worst Enemy” by Evie Irie, “Moon River” by Frank Ocean, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by J. Cole and “Rattle” by the Wandering Hearts. Music direction and choreography were done by current students Natalia Antkowiak and Avery Rudd, while the musical arrangements were organized by The Hofbeats alumnus, Connor Martin, from the class of 2018.
“Although it was virtual this year, we still poured the same amount of energy into our set – if not more – than we would in a normal year,” Drzewiecki, The Hofbeats’ president said.
“Nothing beats the roar of the crowd,” Drzewiecki said of the opportunity to perform live again. Let’s give them a roar at their Sunday, March 27, performance for the ICCA Northeast Semifinals held in Boston.
