Pitch Please, Northwood’s a cappella group, submitted a set of songs to find out if they can compete in the International Championship for High School A Cappella (ICHSA), a competition exclusively for high school a cappella groups, Oct. 15. This is their first year ever competing in this competition, and they will find out the results Nov. 15.
Vocals and guitar teacher Matthew Hanson, the group’s advisor, submitted a set of songs that showed “a wide variety of technique,” according to senior Jacqueline Helgans.
“I sent in just a couple songs we did last year,” Hanson said. “[We did Paramore’s] ‘Ain’t It Fun’, which I arranged with the group… Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’, which was another arrangement I did… and then the last one was “Sleep” by Allen Stone, which was a new one that we just started this year.”
The competition has three levels, but if Pitch Please’s submission is accepted, the group will be sent straight to the semifinals.
“Because there aren’t as many [a cappella] groups in the south area of the country, they don’t have a semifinal for this area,” Hanson said. “We’re actually going to semifinals if we go.”
The winner of the semi-finals round, which may be held in Florida, Ohio or even Charlotte, will go on to New York City for the finals.
Freshman Andrew Bonomolo thought winning this competition would expand Pitch Please’s reputation beyond our community.
“There’s always the factor of more people knowing who we are [from the competition], so that’s always a good thing,” Bonomolo said. “I think that will really help the group. This way, we can learn off of other [a cappella] groups, [which is hard now because] not many high schools have a cappella groups. I’m excited to grow from other groups, and [competing will] definitely help our group out a lot.”
Helgans, one of the last remaining original members of the group, thought the competition would be also beneficial for her personally.
“[Competing is] really just about sharing your art form,” Helgans said. “[It’s] the same reasons people compete for a sport: you want to show your skill, you want to take part in something, you want to gain awareness. It’s like a bit of validation, and it’s just exciting. Performing is fun.”
Even if they don’t come out on top, Hanson believes the competition will change Pitch Please for the better.
“I’m really looking forward to… seeing if this competition’s an opportunity for the group to take advantage of, and I just hope it is,” Hanson said. “[We would] get to go compete, go to this new venue, see other groups and do our best. As long as [they] do what I know they can do, I’ll be happy. [We’re] just kind of using this year to get experience and get as far as we can and then come back next year with a little more perspective of what we’re really up against and try again.”
– By Jasmine Wilkie