Otterbein’s a cappella group, Ottertuned, has been selected as one of 10 collegiate groups in the Great Lakes region to attend the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella (ICCA) at the Great Lakes Quarterfinal this Saturday, January 31, hosted by Bowling Green High School.
President of Ottertuned, Tim Andrews, said that the group was selected to perform in quarter-finals after sending in a three song video to the members of ICCA.
“We put in a lot of time over break, not together, but we had all of our music before we left for break and it was our responsibility to have it all memorized by the time we got back,” said Andrews.
A dress rehearsal was held on January 28 in Riley Auditorium and each member of Ottertuned was told to invite two people. When the performance began, almost all of the seats in the auditorium were filled with students eager to watch.
“This is the first time we’ve ever entered a competition and we made it through to this round,” said senior public relations major Kailtin Steinour.
The nine minute set includes the pieces “Classic/I Want You Back” and “Strip”, both composed by group member Ryan Hutcherson and “The Climb”, which was composed by junior Lane Conley.
First and second place of the quarterfinal competition will advance to semifinals in Dayton, Ohio.
“A huge part of singing is having relationships and when people get up on stage you can tell when they have a good group and when they [don’t],” said Steinour. “I think that the strong relationships will help us work together better and help us perform better.”
The competition will be held at Bowling Green High School at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 31. Tickets are $20.
Follow Ottertuned on Facebook and Twitter for updates on their journey through the competition.
Editors note: Unfortunately Ottertuned did not advance to the semifinals on January 31. Saturday's winners were Ten40(Bowling Green State University) and State of Fifths(Michigan State University) who will both proceed into the next round of competition on March 21 at the Centerville High School Performing Art Center.
