UW A Cappella groups head to international competition

Three UW a cappella groups will attend the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Feb. 8 &ndash; and yes, that is the competition from the movie <em>Pitch Perfect</em>.


The Unaccompanied Minors, The Water Boys, and The Intentional Accidentals will head to Ohio to compete in the Great Lakes division quarterfinals.


&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a chance for people who are really passionate about a cappella to show what they&rsquo;ve been working on,&rdquo; said Megan Brophy, current co-president and founding member of the Minors.


This is the first time competing for the Unaccompanied Minors, while both other groups have attended in the past. In order to qualify, groups have to apply with three videos of performances.


&ldquo;We [The Unaccompanied Minors] tend towards more energetic performance and dramatic numbers,&rdquo; said Brophy of the song selection process for the competition.


Some of the songs the Minors will perform are &ldquo;Gypsy&rdquo; by Lady Gaga and &ldquo;Breath of Life&rdquo; by Florence and the Machine.


&nbsp;Generally, the Minors perform once or twice a week, however with the ICCAs approaching, this term has been devoted to an intense rehearsal schedule.


&ldquo;Three-hour rehearsal on Wednesday, four-hour rehearsal on Friday and the past two Sundays we&rsquo;ve had six-hour rehearsals,&rdquo; said Brophy.


She added that the three groups have performed their competition sets for each other.


&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice because the groups here are all really supportive of each other,&rdquo; said Brophy.


&ldquo;You get bragging rights,&rdquo; she said about the prize of winning the competition.


The winning teams will also move on to the next round of the competition, and get their chance to secure a place in the final competition in New York City.


There are 10 groups in total competing in the Great Lakes region quarterfinals including the three from UW.


Part of the competition is receiving feedback from the judges and constructive critics to bring home and work on within their groups. There are also prizes in areas like &ldquo;best arrangement&rdquo; and &ldquo;best group performance.&rdquo;


&ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t make it through, we&rsquo;ll go back to business as usual,&rdquo; said Brophy, adding that all of the groups will participate in the a cappella end of term concert.


The ICCAs occur yearly in the U.S. This year&rsquo;s finals will take place at the end of April.