BYU's Vocal Point takes first place in international competition in New York City - BYU News Skip to main content
Intellect

BYU's Vocal Point takes first place in international competition in New York City

Saturday competition allows group to participate

Brigham Young University's all-male a cappella group Vocal Point won the first-place award in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) at the Lincoln Center in New York City on April 29.

Vocal Point was among eight other groups to compete at the ICCA. During the competition, Vocal Point had 12 minutes to impress the judges who are members of professional a cappella groups such as the King’s Singers and Rockapella.

“The ICCA is the most prestigious competition for collegiate a cappella groups,” said James Stevens, director of Vocal Point. “It was a great competition with a lot of really talented groups. It was an awesome experience.”

Vocal Point performed a variety of songs, including the 20th Century Fox theme and a version of the THX sound demonstration in theaters. They also performed Michael Buble’s version of the “Spiderman” theme and sang “He is Born,” an original composition by a previous Vocal Point member. The group finished up with Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

Vocal Point qualified last month for the ICCA finals for the third time in five years. In previous years the group declined to perform because the competition fell on a Sunday. This year's finals took place on Saturday, April 29, giving the group the chance to participate.

Vocal Point won two regional competitions to advance to the finals. They won first place at the West Region Quarterfinal and went on to compete at the West Region Semifinal where they won "Best Arrangement" and Ryan Innes won first place for his solo in "He Is Born," giving them the first place overall and advancing them to the finals.

Vocal Point was first organized in 1991 by Bob Ahlander and Dave Boyce. Three years later it became one of the university’s School of Music ensembles.

“The competition has become a tradition with Vocal Point, and we certainly plan to be a part of it again next year,” said Stevens, who was also a member of the group in 2002.

Writer: David Hawks

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Student inventors help BYU rank as a top U.S. university for newly-issued patents

May 12, 2025
Brigham Young University was just ranked as one of the Top 100 universities in the nation for most issued patents. But the new ranking from the National Academy of Inventors isn’t the story for BYU; it’s who holds the patents.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU research: Your beliefs about money may reveal clues about your relationship

May 07, 2025
Everyone holds their own beliefs about money – what it’s for, how much we need and how to use it. But a new study from researchers at BYU says personal beliefs about money also shape the health of your relationship.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU business professors find ‘margins of error’ in workplace correlate with unethical behavior outside workplace

April 29, 2025
Tolerance standards may lead to better outcomes in the workplace, but researchers from the BYU Marriott School of Business recently published a study in the Journal of Business Ethics showing a paradoxical effect in other ethical domains.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=