One of the competitive a capella groups offered here at ETSU, known as Ascension, placed second at the International Championship of Collegiate A Capella 2023 semi-finals.
Adam Hybarger is a student director and member of Ascension as well as a reoccurring outstanding soloist award recipient. He tells the story of how Ascension all got started, by greatly mentioning Thomas Richardson. Richardson is a previous member of several choral groups at ETSU.
“[Thomas] realized he wanted to make his own group,” stated Hybarger. “He got some friends together and held auditions for a mixed group, which he started in 2019.”
Becoming a member of Ascension came by surprise for Hybarger.
“I was in choir with Thomas, and he asked me if I wanted to come sit in on rehearsals,” Hybarger said.
Hybarger accepted this offer and liked what he saw. He joined Ascension his freshman year of college. During this time Ascension was student-led by Thomas, and it was only an extracurricular activity on campus.
The group performed at concerts held here on campus, and then they began competing. Last year, the ICCA quarterfinals were hosted at ETSU and Ascension placed third. With this people began to notice the group and their steps towards success. This year, Ascension placed second at quarter finals and semi-finals, which means they still have an opportunity to attend the final round held in New York City.
While Ascension is a new-founded group, it has already undergone an incredible amount of growth. The members of this pop a cappella group used to work together as a student-led organization.
Hybarger mentioned the biggest change has been becoming a class. Now that they are official within the Department of Music, they receive funding for their program. Not only did the group upgrade, but Richardson was invited to become adjunct faculty here at ETSU to continue working with Ascension.
The members of Ascension practice twice a week every week. In these rehearsals not only do they practice singing, but also choreography that adds to the performance.
“Thomas arranges a lot of the music for Ascension, with that Richardson also creates a great deal of their choreography. There are some opportunities for students to arrange as well,” Hybarger stated. “When it comes to choosing solos, in some cases they will hold auditions and the group will cast a vote. While at other times the piece will be arranged to fit with a specific voice.”
Their competition season within ICCA takes place during the spring, and thus far they have competed twice. Now that Ascension has placed second for semi-finals, they do not automatically go on to the final round. However, they will compete with roughly 18 groups in a round referred to as the Wild Card round.
“For the Wild Card round all of the second and third placers for each region submit a video of their set,” Hybarger said. “The first place group of that virtual round gets to go to finals.”
To keep up with Ascension, you can check out their Instagram at @ascensionetsu.
