PSU Acapella Group Set to Perform at ICCA Competition

Plymouth's own Acapella group, Mixed Emotions, will be competing at the Quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate Acapella  (ICCA), taking place on February 23^rd at Northeastern University. This will be ICCA's 18^th-annual competition. The groupwill be judged on musicality, soloists, beat boxing, and visual aesthetic (including choreography). Leading Mixed Emotions are Meg Anchukaitis, Chelsea Merritt, Chel LaPierre, and Melodey Mathews.

This is a huge opportunity as it is their first time competing in the ICCAs. If they win, Mixed Emotions will move on to the semi-finals in New York City.  The group faces competition from six other colleges in the New England area; including Emerson College, Northeastern University, University of Hartford, Brandeis University, The College of Saint Rose, and Clarkson University.

The ICCAs gained worldwide recognition when the competition was featured in the 2012 musical comedy film Pitch Perfect, in which a women's college a capella group competes against another within the school to win the National competition. Despite this, however, the group heard about the competition a few years before the film was released, but not everyone was on board to audition due to scheduling conflicts between other performances and class schedules. They placed in the Northeastern category of semi-finalists.

The ICCAs require groups to send in a video audition with a minimum of three songs sung sequentially so reviewers can get a feel for how the group sounds as a whole. Mixed Emotions recorded their audition at Plymouth's own Smith Recital Hall in the Silver Center; performing "Wanting Memories" by Sweet Honey in the Rock, "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5, and "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston.

Mixed Emotions rehearses three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights at 9 PM. It is an audition-based group that takes applicants at the beginning of every school year. The group includes sixteen women and is comprised of Music, Theater and Dance; English, Communications, Business, and Undeclared majors; though anyone can audition. Meg Anchukaitis, Business Director and Treasurer for the group, expressed her excitement for the competition stating, "We're mostly in it for the fun and the experience, [but] this group is definitely ready!" Mixed Emotions will be performing a mash-up Lady Gaga's 2010 smash-hit, "Telephone", at the competition. Tickets can be purchased online at neu.universitytickets.com for $22 and the competition starts at 5 PM.