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Potsdam resident competes in International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinal

Posted 3/30/17

Troy O'Brien of Potsdam recently competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinal at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as part of SUNY Oneonta's “Hooked On …

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Potsdam resident competes in International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinal

Posted

Troy O'Brien of Potsdam recently competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinal at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as part of SUNY Oneonta's “Hooked On Tonics” group.

O'Brien, who is majoring in music industry at SUNY Oneonta, sings tenor in the group.

The 14-member ensemble performed a set that included "All Time Low" by John Bellion, "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, and a Michael Jackson medley.

"All Time Low" and "I Want it That Way" featured original arrangements by group member Sydney Kurnit, who is a sophomore at SUNY Oneonta.

Associate Professor of Music Paul Carter, who founded “Hooked On Tonics” and serves as the club's advisor, arranged the Michael Jackson medley.

"We started this group in 2002 and I've never seen it as successful as it is now," Carter said. "We had to up the game to be able to compete and do well. It's something that I've never seen happen in this group until last year, and now in the second year of competing, the group is even better."

To qualify for the regional competition, the group had to submit a 15-minute audition video last semester.

Although the group did not finish in the top two and advance to the ICCA Northeast Semifinal, the students had fun networking with a cappella groups from other schools and got a lot of good feedback, said O'Brien, who serves as president of the group.

"The pride I have for the amount of work we, as a group, put into preparing and perfecting our set goes beyond words," he said. "The memories I made in the weeks leading up to the competition and being on stage with such an amazing group of people are ones I'll cherish forever."