OU’s Gold Vibrations (GV), an a cappella group, won first place on March 5 at the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) semifinal in Chicago. The group will compete in the finals in April at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. 

Oakland is one of only 10 schools from the United States and United Kingdom to earn a spot in the finals. The winner will receive the ICCA’s top prize, the Gooding Cup.

According to the Varsity Vocals website, the group took first place with a score of 394 points. Before winning the semifinal, the group won first place in the ICCA Great Lakes quarterfinal in February.

“[To prepare for a competition], we try to stay in the right mind, figure out who else is competing and how we rank to them,” tenor Noah Hubbard, a sophomore studying cinema studies, said.

At ICCA competitions, each group is given 12 minutes to perform its set, which usually consists of three or four songs. Groups are judged based on a variety of factors including choreography, vocal percussion and tone.

In the past, the group has performed “Uptown Funk,” “Ordinary People,” and “Say Something.”

“[The audience should] expect the same fun-filled team,” Hubbard said. “More polished and more fun.”

“Each year, we sing different songs … each group performs different songs but sometimes you get doubles,” Vice President Erin Ben-Moche, soprano and journalism major, said.

According to its GoFundMe page, the team never expected to place in the top 10 collegiate a cappella groups in the country, but they want more than anything to be able to represent OU at the ICCA finals and show the world what they are capable of.

“[The audience should know that] we will do the best we can [in NYC] and just have fun,” baritone and bass Brian Baylor, a junior studying musical theatre and psychology, said.

“We aren’t all music students, but music brings us together, and our goal is to have fun,” Joe Danz, president and junior studying information technology, said.

GV created a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help cover the cost of the flight and hotel. It reached its goal of $6,500 on March 14. The page opened on March 8. The group released a thank-you video on its GoFundMe page and Facebook page.

According to Danz, the group has a fall and spring performance every year. The group also competes in the ICCA in the winter and attends other events that it’s invited to.

Before the finals in NYC, GV will host its annual spring concert, “Harry Potter and the Aca PalOUza!” at Avondale High School on March 25 at 7:30 p.m.

The performance includes OU’s GV as Hufflepuff, Central Michigan University’s Central Harmony A Cappella as Gryffindor, Grand Valley State University’s GV Groove as Ravenclaw and Michigan State University’s State of Fifths as Slytherin.

Tickets will be sold in the OC near the Pioneer Food Court for $5 on Monday, March 21 through Friday, March 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the door, tickets are $5 for high school students and younger, $8 for college students, and $10 for adults.

To find out more about OU Gold Vibrations, visit ougoldvibrations.com or find them on Facebook as OU Gold Vibrations, Twitter and Instagram @gold_vibrations or youtube.com/OUGoldVibrations.