The University of Wisconsin treble competitive a cappella group Pitches & Notes won the Midwest semifinal in Chicago and will advance to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella finals in April, which will be held in New York.

The group is made up of 17 dedicated members who rehearse three times a week for around two hours each day, senior member Hyunji Haynes said.

UW’s Pitches and Notes advance to a cappella contest regional semifinals

This is the first time in the group’s history that they have made it this far. While this was Pitches & Notes’ eighth year competing in ICCAs, the group formed about 15 years ago.

Haynes said the group stressed that they perform as a group of people who love each other and love making music together, rather than performing to win — but the accolades certainly don’t hurt.

“We really don’t want to go in with any expectations because we know how much work we’ve put in and we know that, no matter what happens, we put it all out there,” Haynes said.

Their set, comprised of the songs “Animal” by AURORA, “Deepest Lonely” by Birdy and “Outro” by MUNA, won a landslide victory at the quarterfinal competition hosted in Madison to advance to semifinals. At the ICCA Great Lakes semifinals, where the treble group competed along with UW’s mixed voice a cappella group Under A-Rest, Pitches & Notes won the contest in a dramatic fashion by one point.

The group also took home some individual awards, with Jill Genova winning best soloist for “Animal” at quarterfinals and Elise Schroeder winning best choreography at both quarterfinals and semifinals. 

This year, Haynes said the team had a particularly unique set this year compared to the past.

“We took really special care in selecting our songs to reflect the current membership and our goals as we grow and as the group changes,” Haynes said.

When Pitches & Notes found out they were going to finals, funding the trip to New York was a concern. The group was unable to secure any funds from the university, so they set-up a GoFundMe to support the trip and reached their goal within four days of launching the campaign.

“We knew that support was out there, but it was so different to see it in numbers,” Haynes said.

Pitches and Notes impart unique flair on a cappella set, impress Music Hall audience

The group now has to juggle rehearsing the set and preparing for their spring showcase, Haynes said. The spring showcase is dedicated to honoring the graduating seniors. Pitches & Notes has eight seniors, which is nearly half the group.

Haynes said the greatest growth Pitches & Notes has seen is in its identity and ability to shift from year to year to best fit the current group. Despite the frequent changes in their membership due to students graduating and others joining every year, the group focuses on commemorating their work and friendships by doing what they do best — making music together.

“We really stress the immense gratitude we have towards our alumni because they’ve kept it up and alive and thriving for 15 years, which can be really difficult for student groups,” Haynes said.

To follow Pitches & Notes’ journey to New York, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.