We Came, We Saw, We Rocked!:Goodbye 2008-09!!
It is hard to believe, but the year is over for AcaBelles. We came over so many obstacles to become the ICCA South Champions, to begin to complete our 2nd studio album, and most importantly, to have transformed from 17 mismatched young ladies to 17 sisters who only bring happiness to each others lives. Sappy? Yes. But from the moment we left to Orlando for retreat to the last time we sang “Call Me When You’re Sober” at our Spring Concert, our bonds have only grown stronger and this year has become more and more unforgettable. Our fans and groupies have become more and more integral to our success and I think I speak for all of this years’ ‘Belles in saying that it has felt amazing to finally be recognized in the a cappella community. Though we did not place at Finals, it was an honor to just perform on the Alice Tully stage with the incredible amount of talent each group had. We have always known that the ‘Belles are a force to be reckoned with and we are so thankful and honored to have had the chance to show everyone else what we can do.
This year has taken us to Orlando, FL, Raleigh, NC, Gainesville, FL, Greensboro, NC, and New York City. We have hosted our very own all-female a cappella retreat, Vocaluptuous, have learned from some of the a cappella greats at SoJam, competed, performed, gave back to the community, and still it feels like we had our first rehearsal just yesterday.
Unfortunately, at our Spring Concert on April 25, we had to say goodbye to 5 of the most beautiful, intelligent, and loving ‘Belles we could ask for, four of which graduate this semester with degrees ranging from Psychology to Early Childhood Education, and one who will be doing her internship for a degree in Music Education in the Fall. Angela Ugolini, Diana Galeano, Joanna Drivalas, Alicia Meyers, and Jackie Saavedra, thank you all for everything you have done for AcaBelles these last few years. To this year’s presidents, Angela and Joanna, I don’t think we could have asked for better leaders to take us to where we’ve made it. All of you are truly an inspiration and we hope that you will come back to sing with us soon.
We also held elections for next year’s AcaBelles Executive Board. The results are:
Music Director- Lauren Barreiro
Business Director- Nicole Torres
Vice President of Finance- Kenley Flowers
Vice President of Travel- Lindsay Padell
Secretary- Rachel Caitlin White
Public Relations Chair- Kayleigh Ragan-Edwards
We hope to have the same success that we had this year in the year to come, and to continue to make our family, friends, alumni, and fans proud.
Last but not least, the thanks. This year really could not have been possible without all of the support and help we’ve received. First to our a cappella family, Reverb and All-Night Yahtzee, it has been so great to see you all at everything we’ve done this year with big smiles and even bigger cheers. Next, to our parents and families, thank you for all of your support financially, emotionally, and morally. Whether you traveled to one of our competitions or put a little extra cash in our accounts to send us there, we couldn’t have done it without you. Special thanks to Mary Trzcinski, not many people would be willing to do what you did for us, and for that we are forever grateful. A HUGE thanks to Florida State University especially the Student Government and College of Music. We are so proud to be Seminoles and cannot believe your generosity and continuous support of AcaBelles. Thank you to all of alumni and donors, we couldn’t ask for a better support system and we hope we’ve made you proud. We’d also like to thank Dave Sperandio, Steve Ryan, Dave Brown, Alli Brooks, Christopher Diaz, and Nick Lyons for always being available to help us out and answer all of our questions. Finally to Lindsey Howerton, Amanda Newman, Varsity Vocals, and all of our ICCA judges for making this competition season more than we could ask for in every way possible.
That’s it! We’re taking a break for the Summer and we’ll back with audition information in August! We’re sad to see this year go, but we’re excited to see where next year will take us.
The WebMistress
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One More Time!!
Last night, March 14, AcaBelles took first place in the ICCA South Seminfinal! Yep! We took first again, AND our very own Cara Pickelsimer took home an award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on 'Breathe Me'.
'Belles are also very proud of Evan Powers from our brother group, Reverb, for walking away with an award for Outstanding Arrangement for his arrangement of 'Blackbird'. Each group was amazing last night, and the 'Belles feel more than honored to be able to take home this award.
We'd also like to extend a huge thanks to the UNCG Sapphires and Spartones for doing such a wonderful job in hosting last night's competition, Lindsey Howerton for being a great producer for the South region this year, and to our judges for everything.
So what does this mean? It means AcaBelles will be heading to New York City to compete in the ICCA Finals on April 18, 2009 at Lincoln Center. There we will be competing against the 5 other Semifinal Champions from around the world.
It hasn't even hit most of us yet, but we couldn't have done it without the support of our family, friends, and fans. Without you, we are nothing. We'll keep you updated on every step we take on our path to Finals, and can't wait to bring it home again!
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We Did It!!!
Last night, February 28, 2009 at the P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center in Gainesville, FL, AcaBelles history was made. We won 1st place at the ICCA South Quarterfinal!!! AND our very own Diana Galeano took home the award for Outstanding Soloist for her amazing performance of "I Who Have Nothing." We worked so hard to get to this point and are very happy to say that we will be competing at the South Semifinal on March 14, 2009 in Greensboro, NC!!
To make the night even better, our brother group, Reverb, took home 2nd place and an Outstanding Arrangement award for Evan Powers' "Summertime." They will also be coming with us to compete in Greensboro after their stellar performance last night.
We'd like thank all of our fans that came out to support us, especially the rest of our a cappella family, All-Night Yahtzee! We're so lucky to have brothers and sisters like you!
So, here we come North Carolina! Go 'Belles!!
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Welcome Back!
Happy New Year! The 'Belles are back and ready for action! We have our first performance this Saturday, January 7, singing the National Anthem at the FSU vs. Duke basketball game. Hope to see you there! We're also prepping to compete in ICCA. Our first round will be held February 28, 2009 in Gainesville, FL. Please check out www.varsityvocals.com for more information about the competition and keep your fingers crossed! This is going to be a busy semester, and as always, thank you for all of your support! The WebMistress
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See You Next Year!
Fall 2008 has officially come to a close and with it goes another great semester of AcaBelles. On Saturday, December 6, 2008 the 'Belles presented Pitch-Slapped! in the Union Ballrooms and it was absolutely "sing your face off" amazing! We also crowned the 2008-2009 Mr. AcaBelle and would like to congratulate Sean "ShaMANda" Landeta on winning the title, but don't worry 'Belles fans, incriminating photos will soon be available. While Matt "Shesquatch" Sorensen and Zach "The Bearded Lady" Myerscough were tough competition, Sean was the clear winner and wowed the audience with a rousing rendition of "Call Me When You're Sober," that gave the 'Belles a run for their money. I would also like to take this time, as WebMistress, to congratulate each 'Belle on a job well done and thank our alumni April Davis, Heather Kufert, Hilary Passo, and Kristina Rodriguez for joining us as we brought back "Alone." We really appreciated it and miss singing with you ladies!
So what has this semester brought us? Well we started off by getting 7 beautiful and talented new ladies, we played with Mickey Mouse at our retreat, we showed how Vocaluptuous we really are, we were Random for All-Night Yahtzee and to help those afflicted with Lou Gehrig's disease, we lit the night, got Fork-ed at SoJam, and finally we were Pitch-Slapped! It's been a jam-packed semester, but the ladies in hot pink have loved every second of it.
The 'Belles have also already started to work on our pieces for ICCA that we will be competing in early next year. We have a couple of dates lined up where you can catch us singing the National Anthem at FSU Men's Basketball games, and of course we will be doing plenty of fundraising for our upcoming CD. Which means, that we are knee deep in the recording process and can't wait to release this CD for you all to enjoy!
Finally, the website will be going through a bit of updating. Look out for videos from Pitch-Slapped!, pictures from this past semester, some new merchandise, and pics of the lovely ladies wearing our spiffy new performance outfits! So don't forget to continuously check back!
With that all being said, please have a safe holiday and a very happy new year and we can't wait to come back for more in the Spring!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
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Pitch-Slapped!
Pitch-Slapped is THIS Saturday!!! December 6 at 8 PM in the Union Ballrooms of Florida State University. Please join the 'Belles as we bring back some oldies, a little bit of Country, a little bit of Rock n' Roll, and definitely all goodies! And how could we forget the crowning glory of Pitch-Slapped!...the Mr. AcaBelle Competition?!?!?!
This year's contestants are:
Matt Sorensen Sean Landeta Zach Myerscough
These lovely lady-men will not only be competing for the coveted Mr. AcaBelle title, they will also be receiving a beautiful tiara and the chance to sing with the 'Belles as the finale of the show. All you need to do is deposit any and all of your spare change into the jar belonging to your favorite contestant. They will be strutting their stuff AcaBelle style during intermission, and if there's anything you don't want to miss, it's this! The lovely lady with the most money in their jar at the end of intermission on Saturday night will be crowned Mr. AcaBelle and then get to choose their favorite song of the night to sing with the 'Belles. The jars will be located in the Fishbowl in the Housewright Music Building on campus and will also be at the concert on Saturday. May the best man(?) win!!
Come out for some great music and lots of laughs...and of course we can't forget some HAWT ladies singing! See you there!
The WebMistress
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What's up with 'dem Belles?
The Ladies are back from SoJam and had an amazing time! We were blown away by Fork and Firedrill! and
Mister Tim just kept us laughing all weekend. A special thank you goes out to the
AACI for hostiing such a great event, especially to FSU alum Alli Brooks and Christopher Diaz, as well as Dave Sperandio and Steve Ryan, who was gracious enough to be generally awake at 9AM on Sunday to accommodate to our travel needs. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! The 'Belles also had the chance to work with
CASA president and former ICCA South producer, Dave Brown, whose master class has definitely become a highlight of our semester and possibly the year. Thank you for everything, Dave!
But like I said, we're back, and ready to rock some faces off at our Fall Concert on Dec 6! We've been working hard and can't wait to see all of you in the Union Ballrooms that night.
In other exciting news, AcaBelles have just been featured along with FSU's other a cappella groups in a piece on WFSU-FM. The mp3 will soon be available on theacabelles.com, but for now you can find it
HERE on the WFSU-FM site. It's a great piece with plenty of "gems" from some of the 'Belles, and we know you'll enjoy it!
Don't forget to keep checking back for updates! We recently added new videos to "The Vids" section of the site, so go and check those out. Otherwise, details of this year's Mr. AcaBelle competition will be coming very soon!
The WebMistress
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SoJam!!!
Ladies and Gents, in less than 24 hours, the 'Belles will be off to Raleigh, NC and on their way to
SoJam. We will be spending the weekend surrounded by some of the most amazing a cappella professionals and collegiate groups around. We will also be fortunate enough to be graced by the vocal stylings of a group that I can only describe as Finnish A Cappella Rockstar Superheroes,
Fork, as well as the awesomeness known as
Firedrill!. This is one of our favorite events of the year, so wish us luck on our adventure!
The WebMistress
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Fall Updates!!!!
This year has started off so well for the 'Belles, and we've already gotten so much accomplished! We've been learning tons of new music, performing all around campus, and have even had the first ever Vocaluptuous: All-Female A Cappella Retreat.
First and foremost, we'd like to thank the University of Florida Sedoctaves for attending Vocaluptuous on October 10-11 of this year. It was a very successful event for both groups and we finished the weekend off with an AMAZING concert with FSU's All-Night Yahtzee and Reverb, whom we'd also like to thank. We hope that Vocaluptuous is an event that we can continue to do in years to come, so keep your ears and eyes open for that information. Also, pictures from this weekend will be posted on the website very soon, so keep checking back for them!
What are the 'Belles doing now? Well besides learning new music and preparing for our Fall concert on December 6 *winkwink*, we're getting ready to go to
SoJam on Novemeber 7-9 in Raleigh, NC, we're already gearing up for ICCA, and we're still in the process of recording our upcoming CD. If you're in Tallahassee, we'll be hosting tons of fundraisers for the CD, so check out the Events & Activities to see where you can find us and help us out!
That's about it, Ladies and Gents! We know with all your support, this going to continue to be a great year!
The WebMistress
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Congratulations New AcaBelles!!!
That's right, auditions are over and we have chosen the new 'Belles for the 2008-2009 year! There are seven amazing new 'Belles and we are so excited to have them in the group they are:
Soprano 1: Melissa Land
Soprano 2: Kenley Flowers and Rachel Caitlin White
Alto 1: Kayleigh Ragan-Edwards and Lindsay Padell
Alto 2: Julie Lefler and Camille Trzcinski
Once again we'd like to congratulate the new 'Belles and can't wait for this year's activities to begin! Check theacabelles.com, our Myspace page, and our Facebook pages in the coming weeks for more information about our new girls and pictures of this year's group.
This year is going to be great!
The WebMistress
