Elizabethtown College was one of 10 vocal groups that competed at Penn State University at University Park in the quarterfinals of the ICCAs on Saturday, Feb. 15. Two Elizabethtown College groups — Melica and Vocalign — were ranked the top two of the night and will proceed to the semifinals at Rutgers University on March 29. Phalanx, Etown’s all-male group, fell just short of advancing but received an unprecedented standing ovation nonetheless.
“We think that we had the best performance that we have ever had, and we are so proud of what we brought to that stage,” Owen Howson, senior vice-president of Phalanx, said. “As we stood up and took our bow, we saw members of the audience giving us a standing ovation. This is something that is unheard of at the ICCAs. We were by far the crowd- favorite. One member of the audience said to our music director that all the groups were very good, but ‘you guys are the only group tonight I would pay to see.’”
“We made every single person know that this small 2,000-person liberal arts college can hold its own against 50,000-student schools. Were we bitter that we didn’t place first or second? Of course, but we are so proud of what we did and that both of the other Etown groups went on,” Howson said.
Senior Shannon O’Leary, the music director for Melica, explained that the directors picked a piece of paper to determine their order in the show. As O’Leary had picked tenth out of 10, the girls in Melica had to wait at least two hours until they were even called to warm up.
“We had a lot of time to fill, so we ran our set, worked on some choreography and played some games I learned as a peer mentor. We heard Vocalign perform while we were in the Green Room, and we were dancing and singing along as they performed,” she said. O’Leary recounted the moment Melica found out they had been awarded first place. “Half the group jumped up in the air, and the other half fell to the floor. Everyone cheered at the top of our lungs, and some even cried tears of joy,” she said.
After the competition, the girls in Melica received an invitation from President Strikwerda to have a celebratory dinner at his house along with the members of Vocalign and Phalanx. But Melica has taken no time to revel in their victory. “To prepare for Semi-Finals, we watched the video of our performance, reviewed what the judges said and critiqued ourselves on how we can improve. We are keeping the same three songs for our set, and working to improve our choreography even more. We may tweak a few parts for additional effect to help us stand out against our upcoming competitors,” O’Leary said.
“The competition at Semi-Finals will be at a whole new level. We will be competing with the top two groups of the other Mid-Atlantic Region quarterfinals, so the talent will be even greater,” O’Leary said. “We’re going to give it our all, have fun and represent Etown the best way we can alongside Vocalign!”
