Two Marblehead High School a cappella groups, The Jewel Tones and Luminescence, competed in the International Competition of High School A Cappella (ICHSA) Northeast quarterfinal on Feb. 10 at Danvers High School. The Jewel Tones placed second among the 10 groups and will be moving on to the semifinal round in Worcester on Sunday, March 24.
Two MHS seniors and members of the Jewel Tones also earned special recognition awards: Luke Menslage for best vocal percussion and Jake Piáscik for best student arrangement.
“We’ve been working on this set since October, so it feels really good to be recognized for all of our hard work,” The Jewel Tones choreographer and social media manager Lani Gilmore wrote in a statement.
“I’m really proud of this group,” said Piáscik. “I couldn’t have completed my arrangement without the help of the group. They really made it come to life.”
Luminescence student officers Ila Bumagin and Anya Kane wrote, “We’re proud of how we performed and how much we’ve improved since the beginning of the year. We’ve grown to be a very close group. We’ve developed a really nice blend of our personalities to create what is now Luminescence.”
Both groups will be performing locally this spring at the Together in Harmony Choral Concert on Sunday, March 10, at the Veterans School Performing Arts Center and at the annual MHS A Cappellooza on Friday, May 17, also at the PAC.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.