The packed audience at Spingold Theater was certainly in for a musical treat on Saturday, when Brandeis' own Spur of the Moment hosted the Northeast quarter finals of International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). Brandeis University's Up the Octave and Voicemale, Boston University's Terpsichore, Northeastern University's Downbeats, SUNY Albany's Serendipity and Amherst College's Bluestockings all competed to be one of two groups to advance to the ICCA Northeast semi-final round at M.I.T. on March 22. These six elite a cappella groups were selected from hundreds of entries to compete in this prestigious, highly competitive quarter final event.In the quarter finals, three judges assessed each group based on musicality and performance. Judges evaluated the a cappella ensembles on their pitch, blend and solos in the music category, while critiquing their stage presence, energy and costuming in the performance category. In addition, the groups would be penalized if they exceeded the 15-minute performance time limit.

First place for best arrangement went to the Northeastern University Downbeats for "Garbage," and Brandeis University's Voicemale finished second with their arrangement of "Let Me Entertain You." The first place and runner-up prizes for best soloists went to Sarah Chase and Christie Beaulieu, both from Boston University's Terpsichore.

Finally, the competition winners were announced, the top two finishers advancing to the next semi-final sound. Although BU's Terpsichore finished in a shocking third, the home-crowd audience exploded when their own Brandeis Voicemale finished second. The surprise winners of the ICCA Northeast quarter finals were the Northeastern University Downbeats, redeeming themselves from a third place finish last year.

The four women of Brandeis's Up the Octave, the night's smallest ensemble, opened the competition with Tori Amos' "Silent All These Years." Up the Octave had great blend and fluid harmonies on songs such as "Lullaby, Goodnight My Angel" by Billy Joel. However, the women appeared nervous singing on stage and did not add choreography to pieces like several of the groups did, as they had only put together their songs for the competition during the previous week.

The 15 ladies of BU's Terpsichore performed next, singing Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass" and Seal's "Kiss From a Rose." Terpsichore's exuberant energy and well-synchronized choreography on the Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" proved why this ensemble was the ICCA Northeast region champions last year. Northeastern University's Downbeats, the only coed a cappella group that participated in the competition, followed. Their selections of songs were the most musically diverse of the evening, ranging from Garbage's "When I Grow Up" to "One by One" of Broadway's "The Lion King." The audience laughed when the members of the Downbeats held up signs and the soloist performed a little jig during their rendition of Counting Crows' "Big Yellow Taxi."

After intermission, Brandeis's own boy band, Voicemale, took to the stage, as the enthusiastic female members of the audience produced rowdy screams. In a competition that featured four female a cappella ensembles, the smooth, well-blended harmonies of Voicemale were a refreshing sound coming from the night's only all-male group. Performing songs such as Robbie Williams "Let Me Entertain You" and Seal's "Don't Cry," Voicemale received the biggest applause of the night.

The crowd also enjoyed the sweet voices of SUNY Albany's Serendipity and the soulful sounds of Amherst College's Bluestockings. Serendipity sang Fiona Apple's "Criminal" and "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, among other pieces, while the Bluestockings' performance was highlighted by an exciting and rocking rendition of Stevie Wonder's "As."

While the judges tabulated their results, Brandeis Spur of the Moment, the competition hosts, entertained the crowd with songs such as Uncle Kracker's "Follow Me" and Shakira's "Objection." Spur President, Aaron Fischlowitz-Roberts '03, commented that hosting the quarter finals was a great opportunity to hear fabulous a cappella groups from all over the northeast and provided great exposure for Spur and all Brandeis a cappella groups.

Many audience members and performers expressed surprise at the outcome of the competition. Voicemale member Sean Cotton '05 remarked, "We are very pleased to be continuing on to the semi-finals, but we were surprised that BU is not moving on as well." Karen Travis '06 summed up the overall mood of the concert, saying, "I was surprised at the outcome of the awards. The BU group was really good, equally good to the Northeastern group. But all in all, I had a blast."

The ICCA Northeast region semi-final competition will be held at M.I.T. on March 22. For tickets, go to www.varsityvocals.com.