List of university a cappella groups in the United Kingdom
[citation needed] The group also performed a week long run of their 2016/17 repertoire at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under the title "Aberpella Presents: 50 Tones of Grey".
The longest-running vocal group at Bath University,[13] The Alley Barbers sing a wide range of songs in four part harmony, often in the barbershop style.
They returned to the London finals again in 2013 where they received more awards than any other group in the competition, being recognised for 'Outstanding Arrangement', 'Outstanding Vocal Percussion', 'Outstanding Choreography/Stagecraft' and 'Outstanding Performance', but ultimately lost overall to Vive from Guildhall.
In September and October 2015 The Sons of Pitches were one of the a cappella groups who appeared in the Gareth Malone BBC television series, The Naked Choir.
In December 2018, Academy released their first single and music video, Jones' arrangement of LunchMoney Lewis' "Bills", which featured in their 2018 ICCA set.
[24] The group reached the ICCA UK final again in 2019, their second year entering the competition, with beatboxer Cem Rifat winning Outstanding Vocal Percussion at the quarterfinal stage.
The Bristol Suspensions are a mixed voice a cappella group formed in October 2014 by Joe Pickin, Eve Robertson, and Rafaella Barratt.
In their first year of existence, they performed in the Voice Festival 2015, released a hit music video, sang on BBC Radio, recorded an album, and brought a show to the Edinburgh Fringe, with a sell-out final night.
[citation needed] The fifth generation of the group released an EP of their 2019 ICCA set, titled Testament, and won the Irish International A Cappella Festival.
[citation needed] In the 2021 virtual edition of ICCA, the group progressed to the international final of the competition with their version of "The Heartburn Song" by Lawrence, picking up awards for Vocal Percussion, Arrangement and Audio Mixing on the way.
[34] The society was started by Iain Hallam, who was musical director for most of the next ten years,[34] and who went on to direct British mixed barbershop chorus champions[35] Bristol A Cappella from their formation in 2013.
The King's Men functions separately from the main Choir (most famous for the broadcast of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on the radio at Christmas) and is run entirely by the members of the group itself.
[45] The same year, they won the inaugural Open A cappella Competition, with group member Jade Harvey picking up the 'Exceptional Vocal Percussion' award.
[citation needed] Vox are a small mixed voice a cappella group from Cardiff University currently consisting of fourteen members.
[48] In 2015 they released their first single, Dancing in the Moonlight,[49] reached the UK semi-final of the ICCAs, picking up an award for 'Outstanding Vocal Percussion',[50] and returned to the Edinburgh Fringe with their show, The Northern Lights Display.
[52] In August 2016 they released their first EP, Bright Lights Small City,[53][54] and a music video, Don't Look Back in Anger,[citation needed] before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for a third run with their show, 'The Voice Awakens'.
[56][6] They released their second music video, Bird Set Free that summer[citation needed] and took their show Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them to the Edinburgh Fringe after a one-night preview at Durham's Assembly Rooms Theatre.
[citation needed] Cloud IX is the University of Edinburgh's only all-male competitive A Cappella group, formed (Founder: Peter Ning) in 2017 (usually) consisting of nine members.
The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 closed down all Edinburgh Festival performances and tourism but Sweet Nothings returned in 2021 with their show 'Now That's What I Call Timeless' and again in 2022 with 'A Night at the Movies'.
[78] In September the group recorded its first self-titled 5-track EP with The Vocal Company, featuring covers of John Newman, Daft Punk, Paolo Nutini, Jay Z and Radiohead.
Unlike the other auditioned groups at the university, they do not compete; instead focussing on performing their varied repertoire at a professional standard, as well as recording and releasing songs on major streaming services.
[75] Formed in September 2013 the Bluebelles are an all-female group that started out focusing on jazz and barbershop-style music, however have recently moved towards a more contemporary repertoire.
Illuminations are a mixed a cappella group, formed by Emily Botsford and Charlotte Mckeown in October 2011, who sing music ranging from modern pop to rock classics.
In their 2012–2013 season the group performed for BBC's Children in Need and competed in their first Voice Festival UK, receiving a personal commendation for stagecraft.
They competed in the ICCA quarter-finals competition 2016 at Exeter University, winning Best Soloist for Izzie Ballentine-Dykes' rendition of Regina Spector's 'The Call',[82] arranged by Abigail Green.
In 2011, they won the award for 'Outstanding Performance'[1] for their arrangement entitled "Night at the Movies", which incorporated theme tunes from several Hollywood blockbusters, including The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean.
[citation needed] Between 28 August and 4 September 2011, the group embarked upon a tour of Croatia alongside the Imperial College Chamber Choir, and competed in the Vocal Marathon a cappella competition.
[citation needed] The group took part in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCAs) in 2009, progressing to the grand final in New York City, coming second.
[citation needed] The group have recorded five studio albums: Naked (2005), Tickled Pink (2006), All Mouth No Trousers (2007), By Any Other Name (2008), Pinkredible (2010) and their latest effort "She Who Dares" (2012).
In addition the group has for many decades sung choral arrangements of popular music, long before this style underwent something of a renaissance in the mid to late 1990s.
