This past Saturday night Apr 29, BYU’s Vocal Point took home 1^st place in the final round of the International Championship of College A Cappella at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Arts.  After winning the western region twice in the past, and being unable to go to finals because they were held on Sunday, Vocal Point won the region again this past March, and earned the right to finally go to the finals in New York.

Saturday night’s show was spectacular, with groups from all over the United States, plus a group from Canada and another from England.  Vocal Point’s set opened with the THX sound and the 20^th Century Fox theme, like you’d find at the beginning of a movie, followed by a rousing, big-band version of “Spiderman,” then a spiritual, touching “He Is Born” (written by Vocal Point alum Aaron Edson), and ending with an extremely complex and over-the-top, incredible version of the big band classic “Sing, Sing, Sing.”  Oxford University’s Out of the Blue took second place, and University of Illinois’ The Other Guys took third.  Several individuals received special awards, including Ricky Parkinson and James Stevens of Vocal Point for Most Outstanding Choreography.  After winning, Vocal Point was invited to perform an encore, so they sang the beautiful hymn “It is Well.”

The national a cappella community has reacted with open arms, universally recognizing Vocal Point as greatly deserving the win.  The BYU group did Utah proud!

For more info on the competition, visit www.varsityvocals.com/icca.

For general a cappella fan discussion on the show, visit http://forum.rarb.org:8080/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2430.

For more info on Vocal Point, and Vocal Point fan reaction, visit www.byuvocalpoint.com.

~Dave Brown