<p>My son’s a cappella group, Out of the Blue, placed second at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella last night at Lincoln Center. Their set was Sex Bomb (Motor City Rockers), Fix You (Coldplay), and Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen).</p>
<p>All of the eight Semifinals winner groups were wonderful, and it was a lively, high-energy show. OOTB is delighted - new CD will be released in June (this message from the US distribution center - yours truly).</p>
<p>That is amazing Yulsie! Congratulations on this honor. They must be realllllly good. Did you get to see them at the Lincoln Center?</p>
<p>Awwwwwwwwwwww, yulsie, how FABULOUS!!! I am SO happy for your son and his group!!! They must have been just THRILLED! Congrats! ~berurah</p>
<p>Congratulations Yulsie - that is such great news!!!</p>
<p>chocoholic, yes I did attend. The groups were excellent - four mixed, one all-female, and three all-male. My personal choice for first place was Reverse Osmosis, a phenomenal mixed group from USC, but the five judges (impeccable credentials, but all men) placed the all-male groups 123 - Vocal Point from BYU, OOTB, and the Other Guys from U of I. The OOTB members were delighted to place, but surprised, due to the terrific performances all evening. They did get a deafening standing ovation for Fat-Bottomed Girls, that must be what put them in the ribbons (thank you, Queen).</p>
<p>kvell, kvell… congrats!</p>
<p>How cool!!!</p>
<p>Yulsie:</p>
<p>It sounds like everyone had a great time! Congrats to your S and his mates.</p>
<p>Yulsie, that is so great! My a cappella group made it to Lincoln Center last year, but chose not to compete this year. So very exciting!!</p>
<p>Congratulations! How wonderful to hear that!</p>
<p>I know a young man in the USC mixed group that performed there (son of my daughters violin teacher). I’m curious as to how they did–the violin teacher canceled lessons this weekend in order to go to New York to see the performance.</p>
<p>College a capella groups are so amazing, you’re so lucky he’s involved in something so utterly cool <em>and</em> entertaining, yulsie. Congrats!</p>
<p>I think it is great that a capella has become so popular on college campuses. When we took the tour of Brown a couple of weeks ago the tour guide said, If you don’t know much about a capella, you soon will if you go to school here! --a very positive thing IMO!</p>
<p>This thread really catches my eye. First, BRAVO to your son’s group, Yulsie. I did not realize your son goes to Oxford! To place second at the International Finals is a fantastic achievement. </p>
<p>I am actually really up on this because my freshman daughter is in a coed a capella group at NYU called The N’Harmonics and they competed in previous rounds for this. They were the Northeast Quarterfinals champions which took place at Brown last month (we attended and it was an awesome concert, so many great groups). The person who won best soloist of the competition won for a song that my D had arranged and they were debuting it. They then competed in the Semi Finals for the Northeast at Fordham. The winner of that event went on for the International Finals at Lincoln Center. They didn’t win, but a group called Effusion from McGill won, who you must have seen. I was not at the Fordham Semi Finals, however. I imagine that the Finals were amazing because even the Quarterfinals were! </p>
<p>MsTee wrote that a capella is big at Brown which is so right. My other D goes to Brown and we have seen many of the groups there perform (they are very good!). In fact, when we went on Parent Weekend last year, my younger D got so into these groups and what they did that she choreographed a tap dance back home at her dance studio to a track on one of the Brown group’s CD for a major performance here. After seeing the Brown groups (had never really seen a capella like this before), she claimed, “I want to do THAT in college when I go to college next year!,” and indeed, that’s what she is doing and is SO into it.</p>
<p>It was so hard to even get into the group in the first place when she told me the huge numbers trying out and only six openings. She has loved being in the group and has arranged two of their songs and was voted Asst. Musical Director tonight, in fact. Last night was their final concert (I wish I was in NYC like you were!) and she is staying on when school ends (tomorrow) as they are recording their first CD in a studio. </p>
<p>I am going to tell my D that I know a parent of the group that came in second at Lincoln Center!!! The N’Harmonics didn’t get to go that final step, but I know how exciting that had to be and the significance of getting to that level when I know what they had to go through with so many talented groups just to get into the Finals. So, WOW WOW WOW! </p>
<p>How great that you were there. We had planned to go to Lincoln Center if my D’s group won at Fordham, but alas, they did not. </p>
<p>It is so cool about your son!!! (and his whole group)</p>
<p>Yulsie…good tiding like this are to be shared…thanks for letting us smile while thinking of your son’s talented winsome group and their cool repertoire.</p>
<p>Congratulations to them all. It would have been a great experience just being there as I think this was the first time western Europe was represented, let alone coming second. I read yesterday on an a cappella forum (yes, there is such a thing!) that the winners and OOTB were the only two groups that really came across with a real enthusiasm for being there and performing, so that must have helped.</p>