TCU’s a cappella groups did not make it past the quarterfinals in last week’s collegiate competition, but they still considered the year a success.
Although neither Here Comes Treble nor The Horned Tones will be advancing to the semifinals, both groups said they have no regrets about the way they sang.
“I wouldn’t change anything about the day,” President and Founder of Here Comes Treble Demi Fritz said. “I think it was great and everyone was really pleased.”
Here Comes Treble and The Horned Tones faced off against seven other Texas-based teams in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), a showcase similar to the final competition seen in the movie “Pitch Perfect.”
Other teams included the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and the University of North Texas.
Here Comes Treble, TCU’s only all-female a cappella group, have been practicing two times a week for the past semester in preparation for this event. They were the sole all-female group competing in the Southwest Quarterfinals.
The women performed three songs at the competition all centered around women empowerment: “Stronger,” “You Don’t Know About Me” and “Brave.”
The judges and audience praised the group for their “unique sound” and “energetic moves.”
Loving these formations by @HereC0mesTreble. #ICCA #ICCASouthwest pic.twitter.com/HY4taB9B74
Attended my first International Collegiate A Capella Championship to cheer on my favorite @TCU a Capella groups The Horned Tones And Here Comes Treble! They rocked it and represented @TCU so well! #ICCAS pic.twitter.com/9ldn1WYL4z
— Richmond Dewan (@RichmondDewan) February 25, 2018
— College A Cappella (@CollegeAca) February 25, 2018
Proud of @TCU & its two excellent a cappella groups Horned Tones and Here Comes Treble, at #icca competition tonight. pic.twitter.com/zxQGgYqB5h
— Jacqueline Lambiase (@lambiase) February 25, 2018
It has been three years since Fritz formed the group — she said with each passing year they sound even better.
“We love to have fun together and invest deeply in our friendships, prioritizing the experience over being competitive,” Fritz said. “We’re all very close to each other and it’s a great group of women to be with.”
Alison Mueller, a sophomore neuroscience major, said one of her favorite parts of competing is hearing all the other groups perform their sets.
“We always perform with multiple groups so the audience gets a wide range of styles and sounds,” Mueller said. “If you like listening to music, you will like listening to a cappella.”
Marcus McGarity, a senior nursing major and member of The Horned Tones, said he wouldn’t change a thing about the way their group performed.
“We went out there and left it all on stage,” McGarity said. “There were some excellent groups that competed this weekend — we were one of them! The competition was stiff but we were prepared. I couldn’t be more proud!”
Each competing group gets 10-12 minutes to woo the panel of judges — hoping that their unique blend of songs will catch their attention.
Judges critique groups on factors such as stage presence, balance and rhythmic accuracy, according to the judge summary sheet.
“We haven’t gone through the scored sheets, but I know the creative choreography including the worm and our beatboxer doing a backflip was definitely a fan favorite,” Fritz said. “For us personally, I think our sound was the best it’s ever been, including dynamics and blend.”
A cappella vocalists perform without instrumental accompaniment with singers utilize various aspects of their voice to harmonize, blend tones and emulate instruments.
Fritz said their group accomplished nearly every goal they set for themselves.
“It felt like it was our best performance as a group and at the end of the day that is the most important thing to us,” Fritz said. “We definitely left it all on the floor. We just all kept smiling and everyone was so excited — it was an amazing feeling.”
Here Comes Treble’s final concert of the semester is Apr. 14 in the Ed Landreth Auditorium. Fans can stay up to date with them on their Twitter, Instagram or website.
McGarity said The Horned Tones plan to continue making music and entertaining audiences.
“The ICCAs are definitely not the end of our journey,” McGarity said. “We will keep singing — this is still honestly just the beginning!”
Anyone interested in auditioning for either group should contact Here Comes Treble at [email protected] or reach out to The Horned Tones on their Twitter or Instagram.
