The Hastings College student a cappella group Millennial Vibe is moving on to a regional International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) competition after finishing second at a district competition in Lincoln February 10.
The regional competition is in Phoenix, Arizona, March 31.
To compete in ICCA’s district competitions, students had to submit an audition video and be selected to participate. Nine groups made the cut – with two of those groups being from Hastings college: Millennial Vibe, a five-member a cappalla group, and 1-2-5, a men’s a capella group that had had 13 of it’s 15 members at the competition.
The Hastings College groups competed against student groups from much larger schools, and most groups had 18 to 30 members. A student group from Rice University in Houston, Texas, was first in the region and will also move on to nationals.
For individual awards, Andrew Koubek, a senior music major from Grand Island, Nebraska, was named outstanding vocal percussionist. He also received the award at last year’s district ICCA competition.
“Millennial Vibe took flight last August with five students wanting to challenge themselves musically, so to see them grow over the past few months and advance to Phoenix is really quite exciting,” said Dr. Byron Jensen, chair of the Hastings College Department of Music. “1-2-5 also did an excellent job in the competition. They have grown significantly in terms of harmonic accuracy, choreography and pure entertainment. Both groups are a joy to watch.”
ICCA gives singers in high school, college and beyond the opportunity to interact, compete, learn from each other, get feedback from the professionals and perform in fantastic venues around the globe. Top participants in ICCA’s regionals will move on to a national competition later in the year.
Members of Millennial Vibe:
- Karli Cabrera, a senior vocal performance major from Pawnee City, Nebraska
- Jonathan Heredia, a senior music major from Grand Island, Nebraska
- Nathan Jensen, a senior music education and vocal performance major from Hastings, Nebraska
- Kaitlynn Schreiner, a first-year vocal performance major from Grand Island, Nebraska
- Andrew Koubek, a senior saxophone performance major from Grand Island, Nebraska
Members of 1-2-5 who competed:
- Garrett Bell, a first-year student from Columbus, Georgia
- John Carroll, a first-year student from Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Levi Cermak, a senior business administration and marketing major from Hastings, Nebraska
- Ian Deboer, a first-year student from Bennington, Nebraska
- Timothy Ellis, a sophomore music education and vocal performance major from Red Cloud, Nebraska
- Jonathan Heredia, a senior music major from Grand Island, Nebraska
- Andrew Koubek, a senior saxophone performance major from Grand Island, Nebraska
- Hugo Madera, a junior music education major from Grand Island, Nebraska
- Joe Prickett, a senior history and sociology major from Hastings, Nebraska
- Joe Quinn, a senior education major from Hastings, Nebraska
- Basil Rabayda, a sophomore theatre major from Phoenix, Arizona
- John Sample, a first-year student from Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Donnie Trisdale, a senior sociology major from Lincoln, Nebraska
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
