{"id":166889,"date":"2026-02-24T13:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/166889\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:07:07","slug":"usfs-all-gender-a-cappella-group-earns-first-icca-placement-since-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/166889\/","title":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s all-gender a cappella group earns first ICCA placement since 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>Members of Tones of Gold perform their AI-themed set at ICCA quarterfinals in Orlando, where they earned a place for the first time in over five years. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/KAITLYN GRAULICH<\/p>\n

For members of Tones of Gold A Cappella Ensemble<\/a>, this semester has been about more than choreography and clean harmonies \u2014 it has been about proving growth.<\/p>\n

The all-gender a cappella group placed third<\/a> in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella quarterfinals in Orlando on Jan. 31, marking the first time the group has placed in the championship since 2020.<\/p>\n

Emanuele Borroni, a senior marketing major and member of Tones of Gold, said the group\u2019s placement in the championship was surprising, but deserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not expect it at all,\u201d Borroni said. \u201cWhen they called our name, it was crazy. We have been working so hard, and it finally paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ICCA is divided into regional rounds, where 10 collegiate groups<\/a> compete for a chance to advance to the semifinals in Durham, North Carolina, and, later, the finals in New York City.<\/p>\n

Although Tones of Gold did not move on to the semifinals, Borroni said the group\u2019s placement in the quarterfinals signals progress.<\/p>\n

Related: USF students to learn from Florida Orchestra conductors in new partnership<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn Graulich, a junior psychology and music performance major, is the vice president of Tones of Gold.<\/p>\n

Graulich said this year\u2019s competition set was \u201cintentionally different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each group competing in the ICCA has a set amount of time to perform, but the length of each song and song picks are left to the group to decide, she said.<\/p>\n

Graulich said Tones of Gold moved against the traditional three-song ICCA format to perform five shorter pieces with \u201cseamless transitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted something cohesive and meaningful,\u201d Graulich said. \u201cSo we built everything around a human versus AI theme.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five-song set included \u201cInhale\u201d by R\u00dcF\u00dcS DU SOL, \u201cHeadlock\u201d by Imogen Heap, \u201cCOPYCAT\u201d by Billie Eilish, \u201cDeeper Understanding\u201d by Kate Bush and \u201cOn and On\u201d by Djo.<\/p>\n

Graulich said these songs fit the human versus AI theme because of the key lyric and sound elements within them.
\u201cSome of the sound elements almost felt mechanical, which worked perfectly for the AI concept,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said Tones of Gold members dressed in black represented humans, while members in white symbolized AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An opening monologue for the quarterfinals introduced the theme, and the group then transitioned into a performance that reflected the tension between technology and identity, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graulich said she helped select the songs in May and arranged three of them by ear, layering each vocal part before transferring the arrangements into sheet music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to bore the audience,\u201d Graulich said. \u201cI wanted something engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said other Tones of Gold members arranged the remaining pieces of the setlist for the championship.<\/p>\n

Related: USF Battle of the Bands former competitors encourage others to take the stage<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graulich said Tones of Gold\u2019s preparation for the championship began long before the competition season arrived.<\/p>\n

Efforts to prepare and fine-tune performances span the entire academic year, with members dedicating months to refining music, movement and overall quality before taking the stage.
\u201cWe start deciding what songs we\u2019re going to do and arranging them in the summer,\u201d Graulich said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the group rehearses twice a week in two-hour sessions to choreograph, strengthen vocals and perfect the performance, she said.<\/p>\n

But balancing rehearsals, jobs, other extracurriculars and classes can be \u201chard,\u201d Borroni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly working on improving,\u201d Borroni said. \u201cSo when we placed, it felt like all of our rehearsals really paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graulich said another challenge was that the championship was held two weeks earlier than usual, leaving Tones of Gold with less time to prepare during winter break.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only had two weeks after getting back from break, and we still had to get all the choreography together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: USF\u2019s music scene is the lifeblood of the campus<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Borroni said several members of the group were sick with influenza<\/a> in the days leading up to the performance. Still, he said they managed to power through to perform to the best of their ability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The placement in the championship has shifted the group\u2019s mindset from proving themselves to continuing greatness, Borroni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we know it is achievable,\u201d he said. \u201cIt brings more excitement and more dedication for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graulich said Tones of Gold\u2019s placement in the ICCA provides validation for the group\u2019s hard work and determination to succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUSF is sometimes looked down<\/a> upon for the arts, but I think we\u2019re underrated,\u201d Graulich said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of Tones of Gold perform their AI-themed set at ICCA quarterfinals in Orlando, where they earned a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-166889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}