Spirit of Southern, a pop a cappella group at the University of Southern Mississippi, secured third place at the South Quarterfinals for the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella (ICCA) on Feb. 8. This marked the ensemble’s first appearance in the competition.
The regional quarterfinals were held at the Ethel Holden Brownstone Center for the Arts at Pearl River Community College, where ten a cappella groups from across the Southern United States competed for the chance to advance to semifinals. First place went to All Night Yahtzee from Florida State University, with Trebulldawgs from Mississippi State University taking second. Both groups will move on to the semifinals.
“Getting to compete with so many amazing groups was so much fun and so rewarding,” said USM sophomore Aiden Luttrell, who has been a member of Spirit of Southern for two years.
Although Luttrell’s major in Sound and Recording Arts is not within the School of Music, he expressed gratitude for being part of the ensemble.
“I’m so proud of us for our third-place finish,” he said.
Spirit of Southern serves as a key recruitment tool for USM’s Choral Activities and is composed of 16 students from various majors. The ensemble holds auditions each year, with all students eligible to try out. The audition process involves multiple rounds, including an initial video submission, which will be open from April 4-11. Members rehearse for two and a half hours per week, and their commitment to excellence helped them achieve success at ICCA.
The public’s next opportunity to see Spirit of Southern perform will be at their annual event, “Drop the Mic,” on April 17 at The Switchyard at 8 p.m.
“We learned a lot,” said Spirit of Southern director Dr. Jonathan Kilgore.
He emphasized that the students’ growth as individuals and as a group was more important than the competition results.
“We’re not going to let competition be our defining characteristic,” he said. “They all grew as individuals, and they definitely grew as a group. That’s the best thing I can ever ask for.”
For their first time competing, Spirit of Southern’s third-place finish was a notable achievement, reflecting the hard work and dedication they have shown throughout the school year.
