Kaskeset has been selected as the first Jewish a cappella group ever to advance from the quarterfinals to the semifinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) competition.
The Binghamton University a cappella group placed second out of the eight groups at the quarterfinal competition, earning themselves a spot in the semifinals. The semifinal competition will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, April 2 at Rutgers University.
The ICCA is broken up into eight legions. According to Ari Hausman, the music director of Kaskeset and a sophomore double-majoring in music and psychology, most groups are from the United States, but there are a few from Canada and other international areas. Kaskeset falls into the Mid-Atlantic region.
Because they were among the top two groups in their sub-group, the group will advance to the semifinals to compete to become the top group in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Kaskeset was created in 1996 as an a cappella group containing a repertoire of Jewish music and songs written by Jewish people.
“It is our 13th year so it’s our Bar Mitzvah,” Max Buckler, business manager of Kaskeset and sophomore majoring in business, said. “We sing Yiddish songs, Israeli pop music and a couple of secular songs just to spice things up.”
During the competition, each group is given 12 minutes to perform.
Groups try to pick songs that will show off a variety of soloists, choreography, pieces with complex arrangements and songs with which they’ve received positive feedback, according to Hausman.
“We try to pick some English songs that people can relate to, but keep our identity as a Jewish group,” Hausman said. “Without staying true to our Jewish roots our successes don’t mean as much.”
The groups were judged on a variety of factors that were broken down into different categories of musicality, including rhythmic accuracy; tuning; blend; and choreography related to staying in sync, as well as overall presentation.
Three judges graded the groups subjectively and gave them points that were added up to determine each group’s ranking.
Kaskeset has toured across the East Coast, including locations such as Florida, Boston and Washington, D.C. They plan on traveling to California next winter break.
When they are not traveling, Kaskeset performs at Jewish organizations, such as Jewish Community Centers and synagogues, as well as nonprofit organizations and disabled and elderly homes. The BU students also conduct workshops for children and high school a cappella groups.
According to its members, Kaskeset is honored to represent Jewish a cappella in the ICCA competition, as the two other Jewish groups that competed did not make the cut.
“This is a breakthrough in the collegiate scene,” Buckler said. “It’d be great if anyone from Binghamton could come see some really awesome a cappella groups perform.”