Simply Vocale hits a high note at ICCA quarterfinals

Collage by Matias Pacheco-Ramirez, Photographer

For the first time ever, Simply Vocale has made it to the international semifinals. Competing in the ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella), Chapman’s all-treble a cappella group is in the midst of history.

Music director and senior B.F.A. theatre performance major Ansley Teal said it was a big win for all treble groups in the West region.

“Other treble groups were like, ‘Oh my God, thank you so much, we feel like because you're going, we get a piece of that victory as well.’ So that was really sweet to see the impact that it had on other people in the area, even our own competitors,” Teal said.

The a cappella set that was performed at the ICCA quarterfinals has been in the works since May 2025, which isn’t typical for the group. But when Teal and her assistant music director — sophomore peace studies and B.A. theatre performance double major Vic Bullard — were elected, they were advised to start preparing early. 

“We tested it out this year, and I think it worked great. We were (FaceTiming) over the summer. And so (Ansley) was in London and I was in Rhode Island, and we were talking about the set, working on arranging it,” said Bullard. 

While they were preparing for their semifinal qualifying set, there was a looming worry about creating a performance for a group that didn’t yet fully exist. The team lost many members after several graduated.

“We're arranging the set for a group that we don't even know yet. And then we held auditions, and it was just incredible that we got nine new members this year,” said Bullard. 

The team now has 17 members. Kori Martinez, a junior film production major, was one of the new nine, and she said this experience is something she aimed to do when coming to Chapman.

“Coming to this school. I knew I wanted to do something with music because when I was in community college I did a lot of choir and theater. So I wanted to really hone that when I was in the Chapman experience,” said Martinez.

Part of the experience was the sense of community this team created for Martinez. She said they often do bonding activities like a beach retreat and renting Airbnbs to get to know one another. 

“Simply (Vocale is) really nurturing, it's really kind of like a sisterhood, you know,” said Martinez.

For their ICCA competition set, Simply Vocale performs three songs: “When The Dark Dresses Lightly” by Aurora, a mashup between “California” and “The Subway” by Chappell Roan and, Martinez’s favorite, “Perfect Celebrity” by Lady Gaga. 

“It's the ending song. It really feels like it's the last stretch till you're done, but it's also really fun to dance that song. It's really fierce,” said Martinez. 

All the songs are performed with matching choreography that requires significant training and rehearsal to gain stamina. Martinez compares the preparation to “Pitch Perfect.”

“The first few weeks were a lot of learning the actual music, and I think we practiced during interterm a lot. So it was, like, three hours a day for four days,” said Martinez. “And then we had choreo as well … we had to stretch and we had to do a lot of running so that way we can have that stamina for performing on stage and stuff, because we're singing and dancing at the same time.”

All the training turned out to be worth it when they took second place and advanced to the semifinals. When Teal was a freshman, they were rebuilding the club from the ground up, so this accomplishment is extra special for her.

“I will not (even) be that happy at my own graduation. No. Seriously, hearing them say that we were advancing was so meaningful to me,” said Teal. “But I mean, for me, accomplishing getting to the semis this year was also just so meaningful to me because my freshman year, like when we were rebuilding, we didn't even qualify for the quarterfinal.”

If they place first in the semifinals, Simply Vocale will automatically advance to finals — but there is also a chance, if they place at all, that they have the opportunity to submit a video to a “wild card round” and be reevaluated by judges. 

The finals will be on April 25 in New York City, and Bullard said they can’t comprehend that as a possibility yet.

“The opportunity isn't over if you don't place first. So there's still a lot of work to be done,” said Bullard. “But truly, I'm just so grateful to be where we are.”

Editor’s note: A previous edition of this article had factual inaccuracies based on miscommunications with Simply Vocale. That has since been changed.