The University of Southern Mississippi School of Music is proud to announce that its vocal a cappella group, Spirit of Southern (SOS), recently won the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) South Quarterfinal in Biloxi, advancing to the semifinal round set for March 28 in Durham, North Carolina.
Under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Kilgore, the group competed against top collegiate a cappella ensembles from across the Southeast, including groups from Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
SOS earned first-place rankings from all judges and achieved a score that ranks among the top 10 highest quarterfinal scores in ICCA history. Additionally, junior music education major Blake Tolbert received the award for Best Vocal Percussion. Varsity Vocals’ ICCA is the only global tournament dedicated to showcasing student a cappella performance.
“ICCA is an unbelievable motivator, and the competition pushed me and my group to previously impossible heights,” said Ben Bram, a Grammy Award-winning arranger for Pentatonix, “Pitch Perfect” and “The Sing-Off,” and a former ICCA finalist. “It’s where I first learned what excellence in live a cappella performance truly means. Not to mention that some of my current best friends are former ICCA competitors.”
SOS is the premier pop a cappella ensemble at Southern Miss. The group performs at a variety of university and community events in and around the Hattiesburg area and serves as one of the primary recruitment arms of Choral Activities. Its members represent all undergraduate levels and a range of academic disciplines.
The ensemble has been invited to perform at Mississippi ACDA/Mississippi Music Educators Association state conferences and the Southern Region Conference of the American Choral Directors Association.