Vocal Australia

Dear Australasian A Ca****la community,

With a heavy heart I have sadly decided not to run AUSACA 2023.

This was going to be our first live event since 2019 and I know that many of you (myself included) were looking forward to being all together once more!

There's a variety of reasons that have led to this decision.

The costs associated with running the event have gone up significantly over the last few years and we've tried tweaking how we could run the event and looked at all the ways we could trim the budget (which is already on a shoestring) and we just can't find a way for it to be possible for us to break even this year.

A lot of groups didn't make it through the last few years and we're at the point at the moment where we need almost every eligible existing group to participate in order for each division to be viable while we're in the rebuilding stage. Unfortunately, a number of groups / some of their singers who would normally be part of AUSACA will be in NZ participating in the Barbershop Pan Pac on the same weekend we were planning to hold AUSACA.

On top of that, I now have a one year old baby who is very active and incredibly adorable and trying to find the time to do the administration for the event is proving impossible at this stage. Unfortunately I have had significant health issues during her first year that slowed me right down for a while so it's not as simple as doing some admin work while she sleeps. And more importantly, she's only young once and I don't want to miss out on spending this precious time with her.

We'll be going back to the drawing board to look at the best way that Vocal Australia can help the Australasian a ca****la community to rebuild so that AUSACA can return in due course and fill your hearts and souls once again with the joy of all that a ca****la goodness!

Until then, keep singing!

Amelia Alder
Director
Vocal Australia

2022 Spotlight: Harambee A Ca****la
🎖 AUSACA 2022 Open Ensemble Finalist
🥈 Best Jazz Song - Runner-Up for Pure Imagination
🥈 Best Contemporary Song - Runner-Up for Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)
✈️ From Melbourne, VIC

Want to watch their performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: Serotonin - Griffith University A Ca****la Choir
🥉 AUSACA 2022 Open Ensemble Final - 3rd Place
🥇 Best Classical Song (Tied) for Beethoven’s 5th
🥈 Best Folk Song - Runner-Up for The Seed
✈️ From Gold Coast, QLD

Want to watch their performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: The Acappelicans
🥉 AUSACA 2022 Open Band - 3rd Place
🥈 Best Comedy Song - Runner-Up for Teen Angst Medley Part II
🥈 Best Arrangement - Runner-Up for for Teen Angst Medley Part II
🥈 Best Vocal Percussionist - Runner-Up - Chris Dendle
✈️ From Sydney, NSW

Want to watch their performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: ThylaSing
🥈 AUSACA 2022 Open Ensemble Final - Runner-Up
🥇 Best Original Composition for Nic Courto for Autopsy
🥇 Best Jazz Song for The Cactus That Found The Beat
🥈 Best Soloist - Runner-Up for Nic Courto for Autopsy
✈️ From Hobart, TAS

Want to watch their performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: Stacella Alumni, Star of the Sea College
🏆 AUSACA 2022 School Champions
🥇 Best Soloist (School) for Maddy P. for Problem
🥇 Best Contemporary Song (School) for Heart of the World
✈️ From Melbourne, VIC

Want to watch their winning performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: Cornerstone Chorus
🏆 AUSACA 2022 Open Ensemble Champions
🥈 Open Overall Division - Runner-Up
🥈 Best Newcomers - Runner-Up
🥇 Best Barbershop Song for Girl Next Door
🥇 Best Classical Song (tied) for Oh Love that will not let me go
✈️ From Gold Coast, QLD
Want to watch their winning performance?! See links below.
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

2022 Spotlight: Voices Co. Academy
🏆 AUSACA 2022 Open Overall and Band Champions
🥇 Best Arrangement for ‘Afterglow’
🥇 Best Vocal Percussionist for “Feel It Still’
🥇 Best Contemporary Song for ‘Afterglow’
🥇 Best Newcomers
✈️ From Christchurch, New Zealand
🎤 Part of the first and only pop a ca****la academy in NZ!

Want to watch their winning performance?!
See links in comments below!
https://www.ausaca.com/2022-results/

ThylaSing (AUSACA 2022 Open Ensemble Runners-Up) are being interviewed about AUSACA on ABC Hobart at 2:30pm AEDT today! Tune in online at https://www.abc.net.au/hobart

🌟AUSACA 2022 RESULTS🌟

Congratulations to all of the groups who competed in this year - we're very proud to announce the winners and runners-up for AUSACA 2022!

OVERALL OPEN CHAMPION:
🥇 Voices Co. Academy
🥈 Cornerstone Chorus

OPEN BAND DIVISION:
🥇 Voices Co. Academy
🥈 Human Music
🥉 The Acappelicans

OPEN ENSEMBLE DIVISION:
🥇 Cornerstone Chorus
🥈 ThylaSing
🥉 Serotonin - Griffith University A Ca****la Choir

SCHOOL DIVISION:
🥇 Stacella - Star of the Sea College

A huge thank you to our incredible judging panel Deke Sharon, Mel Daneke & Jon Smith. To see the full list of awards and competitors, head to https://www.ausaca.com

AUSACA 2022 Results Broadcast starts in about half an hour!
Performances, Special Awards and Placings!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQwuefoWu_I

It's happening TODAY!!
AUSACA 2022 Performances and Results!
Today 3pm AEDT
Click on the bell to get notified when it starts! :)
Link in the comments.

A quartet may be grand but The Velvetones are a girl’s best friend!
🏆 2018 Overall Champions and Open Band Division Champions

****la ****la [image description: Four women dressed in vintage dresses and hairstyles line the stage holding microphones while they sing.]

Let’s get down to business with QUT Aca-demics!
🏆 Two-time AUSACA Open Ensemble Division Champions (2017 & 2018), two-time Audience Fan Favourites and four-time National Finalists from QUT!

****la ****la [image description: QUT Aca-demics are a large choir dressed in navy blue, white and black. They are pictured here in various poses on stage.]

Say hello to the fabulous singers of The Pitch from Caulfield Grammar!
🏆 2019 AUSACA School Band Division National Champions after placing 2nd at Generations in Jazz in the same year! From Caulfield Grammar School in VIC.

****la ****la [image description: five singers perform on stage wearing different coloured outfits, holding microphones.]

Say hello to the stunning voices of Stacella from Star of the Sea College !
🏆 Two-time AUSACA School Ensemble National Champions (2018 & 2019) and four-time Audience Fan Favourites plus 2019 runners-up in the School Band National Final too!

****la ****la [image description: Stacella are large choir of young high school students - they are pictured here on stage singing, wearing black shirts and denim jeans.]

Mel Daneke is a contemporary performer, arranger, producer, and educator. She currently performs with two internationally renowned and award winning vocal bands, Musae (Beatboxer + DJ) and Six Appeal (singer), and is the President of Viridian Productions!

Don’t miss your chance to apply for and have Mel listen to your group - apply via www.ausaca.com 🎶

****la ****lagroup ****la [image description: Mel has brown and pink hair and smiles to the camera. She is wearing a black top and stands against a brick wall.]

I wanna talk to you…about The Macabellas!
🏆 4th time was a charm for Macquarie University Macabellas at after being crowned our 2019 Open Ensemble National Champions and Overall runners-up!

****la ****la ****la [image description: The Macabbellas are a group of treble singers dressed in pink jackets and black pants - they wave rainbow coloured flags above them while standing on stage singing.]

Jon Smith is a vocalist, arranger, director, vocal coach, and recording engineer from New York. Jon has sung on numerous movie soundtracks and currently sings Tenor in the five-time Grammy-winning vocal group, The Swingles!

Don’t miss your chance to apply for and have Jon listen to your group - apply via www.ausaca.com 🎶

[image description: Jon is a blonde man with one earring wearing a black shirt, he smiles into the camera happily.]

A few of our favourite things about Burgundy Blue!
🏆 Three-time Audience Fan Favourites,Two-time Open Band Div Runners-up and our 2019 Overall (and longest reigning) Champions!
🥈Silver Medalists from the Hong Kong International A Ca****la Contest!

****la [image description: a series of images of Burgundy Blue, a five member a ca****la group performing on stage. They wear burgundy and blue coloured clothes and each hold microphones.]

Heralded as “The Father of Contemporary A Ca****la,” (Entertainment Weekly), Deke Sharon produced “The Sing-Off” worldwide and served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal’s Pitch Perfect 1, 2 and 3!

Don’t miss your chance to apply for and have Deke listen to your group - apply via www.ausaca.com 🎶

****la ****la [image description: Deke, a brunette man wearing glasses and a black shirt stands against a white background smiling.]