Rip Chords place second in championship

By Leslie Picker

University of Illinois’ own Rip Chords won second place at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella quarter-finals. The 14 members in the all-female singing group now have a guaranteed spot at semi-finals at Northwestern on March 31.

The competition took place at Lincoln Hall last weekend and included a cappella groups from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, and Kansas. The groups performed for approximately 12-minutes and were judged on their intonation, blend, song arrangement, and general presentation.

The group’s manager, Georgann Grecco tells the Daily Illini what set the Rip Chords apart from the other groups.

“We really value the sound, so sometimes we don’t do as much choreography, but I think we try to put more emphasis on the vocals.”

The student run group consists of only a few music majors, with the rest of the girls studying other disciplines. Many of their music is composed by its own members. Grecco enjoys the commitment and hard work she devotes to the group.

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“Some of the arrangements that we get are really challenging, which is nice because it challenges us to reach a new level vocally.”

Grecco sees the Rip Chords team work as a blessing to the group’s success.

“Vocal progress just from that unification of a group just came natually, I feel like.”

Last year, the Rip Chords won second place at quarter-finals and second place at semi-finals in Madison, Wisconsin. They hope to have even more success this year. For the Daily Illini, I’m Leslie Picker.