The A Cappella Apocalypse: the ICCAs

Okay, okay — sorry for the dramatic title. You’re probably thinking: “A cappella. It’s just a bit of singing, James. What are you talking about?”

And don’t worry — I thought much the same when I came to this Scottish coastal university as a fresh-faced fresher last semester. I was wandering, as the swarm of first years habitually do in the first week, through the society stands at the Union, when I came upon the St Andrews A Cappella Society stall. I met Emma, Manager of The Alleycats, one of the six groups of the ‘singing-without-instruments-and-just-your-larynx’ kind in St Andrews and, after asking her a few questions about the group, I decided to audition for one myself.

I initially chose The Other Guys, having seen their performance at the Younger Hall matriculation service. I asked myself the question: “Wouldn’t it be cool to be one of the slick-haired, suited-up, girlfriend-magnetising bass singers in this award-winning, album-producing group?” Unfortunately, that remained a question and never a reality after I failed to make it past the second hurdle of auditions. In a moment of haste, I Instagram DM'd The Alleycats asking for an audition, which I found out was directly before their first rehearsal of the Semester.

I think that might have been one of the best decisions I’ve made here at St Andrews, as I’ve met not only the most talented vocalists, but also the best friends that I could have asked for. Fast forward to the last day of January this year, a bit further up the coast in the especially grey city of Aberdeen. It wasn’t just the skies that were grey, but the buildings, and even the people – or perhaps we were just walking through a particularly geriatric area. I’m by no means underestimating this famous port city, but merely suggesting that I wasn’t quite experiencing the ‘Aber-dream’ promised by Sara, our Musical Director, who lives there. 

After a day of mostly shopping and not practicing (don’t judge — we’d had five 6-hour days of practicing up to that point), the performance was drawing nearer, the mics being prepared, and our companion (totally not adversary) St Andrews a cappella groups, The “Hummies” Hummingbirds and The “Accies” Accidentals were warming up in the neighbouring dressing rooms. Note from the author: Don’t ever go in with high expectations for a cappella dressing room sizes — you will almost always be disappointed. 

So, why did I end up on stage in the Tivoli Theatre looking into the chasm of darkness (the badly lit audience) with blinding stage lights piercing my face from all directions? How did I find myself competing in the biggest, oldest, most professional a cappella championship in the world, that is, the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella … or the ICCAs for short? And by extension — why is a cappella so popular in St Andrews? After all, there are six groups of ever-expanding sizes in this tiny town that practice, perform, and compete frequently. 

Initially, musical instruments were considered a Catholic innovation by the likes of Luther and Zwingli, the sausage-loving Protestant who went around destroying organs in Switzerland — I mean, seriously, did he have nothing better to do with his spare time? They were seen as being ungrounded by the scriptures and Church history. For this reason, there is little mention of instrumental music in early church worship for the first six centuries AD. A cappella, in its earliest forms, appeared in Gregorian chants and Jewish zemirot … though these polyphonies might be more relevant for the St Andrews Madrigal Group. Time-travelling a bit to 1906, Evanston, Illinois — an important day in the history of a cappella when the organist (shh … don’t tell Zwingli) Peter Lutkin founded the first a cappella group. With the help of barbershop and doo wop movements, as well as the roaring success of Pitch Perfect (2012), a cappella has grown and grown. It’s now seen as popular and — dare I say — ‘cool.’

So even though The Alleycats’ apocalypse-themed songs (including ‘Sabotage’ and ‘As the World Caves In’), weren’t quite enough to sway the judges in this year’s ICCA quarterfinals, what we learnt was that it was worth the journey up to that point … practicing every week in the Laidlaw centre, perfecting our pieces, making mistakes but trying again, learning Ben’s complex choreography, and sharing many an inside joke/Jaffa cake.

All that leaves me to say is a huge congratulations to all involved! Special mentions, though, are due to The Hummies who claimed third place and The Accies who won an award for best soloists.

Image from Wikimedia Commons