By Max Kaplan, Staff Writer
The women’s A Cappella group at Reynolds, Syncopate, has made waves with their performances at the ICHSA (International Competition of High School A Cappella) competition, moving up to the semifinals of the national competition in Florida
ICHSA is a an international high school A Capella competition, and Syncopate recently advanced from the Southern Quarterfinals to Southern Semifinals, which will be in Florida in March 25th, at Winter Park High School.
“I see Syncopate moving up in the competition depending on the work and dedication that goes into our rehearsal schedule before Florida. However, I have full confidence we can make it to New York if that’s truly what all of us want to do,” said senior Grace Manning.
Hopes are high for the group This is the furthest the team has ever made it in the tournament in the school and group’s history.
This team has grown under the direction of Mr. Michael Martinez, but also from the group becoming closer together and forming bonds with each other as singers.
“I have made most of my best friends in Syncopate, some graduated, some still with me, but amazing people come out of that group,” Manning says.
“The group has developed from a very traditional and strong women’s a capella, into a very contemporary sound, which plays into these girls strengths,” Martinez said about how the group has changed over time. During these developments, they have had to face the obstacle of learning how to work together as a team to find the best sound.
“One of our biggest obstacles was really figuring out how we worked together as a group given our different personalities,” said senior Ava Foster, “We were all friends with each other prior, but this experience has really brought us together and has shown me how important individualism is. We are all different and we have different strengths and weaknesses and that’s what makes us so dynamic. When it comes down to it, we all really love music and that shared love has made us a family.”
Syncopate was formed in 2000, before Martinez was a teacher at Reynolds, and has never gotten this far in the competition. Moving on to Florida has been a huge step for the girls to represent RJR. They will probably sing their favorite song, River by Bishop, according to Mr. Martinez.
“Going to Florida is a great opportunity for the girls. It’s a lot better for them because this is the semi finals compared to the quarterfinals, and they will be competing against groups that have been to the finals many times before, so they have a lot of work ahead of them,” Martinez said.
The team has high hopes and will try their hardest to make it past these semi finals in Florida, and move on to the finals in NYC, and making themselves known in the a cappella community.
Photo from RJR A Cappella.