The ChapTones have unfinished business. 

As freshmen in 2020, senior members of the a cappella group, including television writing and production major Reece Melber, landed themselves in the semifinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). However, their momentous run would be cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We were some of the only people left on campus because we were waiting to see if the semifinals were going to be canceled,” Melber said. “We were all together when he heard (ICCA) got canceled. We had our last rehearsal and sang our most sentimental song. It’s called ‘I Found’ (by Amber Run), and then everyone just cried.”  

After returning in 2021, the ChapTones took the year to reestablish and build back their foundation with new members. On March 4, the group returned to ICCA at Pomona College, where they earned second place in the western region quarterfinals and solidified their return to the semifinals. But this time, Melber looks upon their victory with the eyes of a veteran. 

“I was enjoying (our quarterfinal win) more through the younger members who hadn’t won before,” Melber said. “Some of them almost didn’t know if it was possible for us to win, so seeing that for all of them was a really cool part. It’s surreal because we’ve worked really hard, and I don’t want to sound cocky, but it kind of just felt right.”

The ChapTones are a gender inclusive, award-winning a cappella group that promotes diversity and community through music. The group was established in 2014 and is one of four a cappella groups at Chapman University alongside Simply Vocale, Men of Harmony and SoundCheck. The group gave the penultimate performance at ICCA, singing a Lawrence cover of “It’s Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC, “Erase Me” by Lizzy McAlpine and “Anyway” by Phoebe Katis. 

They accumulated 406 points, just 17 behind first place Uniting Voices of University of California, Irvine. 

Junior psychology major Valentyna Simon recalled jotting down the goal of competing in ICCA on her Fenestra ribbon during her virtual orientation in 2020. During high school, Simon attended an a cappella summer camp hosted by performance coach and music director Deke Sharon (the star of “Pitch Slapped" and the music director for "Pitch Perfect”) along with numerous a cappella events in New York. 

ICCA became an embodiment of all her high school dreams and described The ChapTones victory as overwhelming.

“I quite literally blacked out on stage,” Simon said. "I really don’t remember a lot of what happened. When they announced that we were second and we were going to the semifinals, we all freaked out. The group has competed in the semifinals in the past, but I was just not expecting to go this year because there’s a lot of extreme talent in the West Coast a cappella region.”

ICCA is a bracket style competition consisting of over 400 teams across the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. One team will be chosen from 10 semifinal rounds to compete for the ICCA championship in New York. Teams who place second in the semifinal round will be placed into a wildcard round and will have a second chance to make it to New York. 

The ChapTones also received special awards for outstanding soloist (Kaylee Brown) and outstanding choreography. Despite the competitive nature of the event, junior integrated education studies major Peyton Ming said the rivalry between the The Barden Bellas and The Treblemakers in “Pitch Perfect” is not an accurate representation of a cappella dynamics at ICCA and that all of the groups uplift and support one another. 

“The most important part of ICCA is the community,” Ming said. “You spend so many months working on your set for literally 10 minutes of performance. When you get to that point, you’ve done all you can and (ICCA) becomes a time to connect with all the other groups. The a capella community is so big, but super close-knit and really friendly.”

The ChapTones will compete in the west semifinals on March 25 at Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon. No matter the result, Ming said that The ChapTones has been the best part of his college experience. 

“(The ChapTones) has provided me with family and stability,” Ming said. “This year has been really rough, probably one of my roughest years… (but) nothing has provided me with stability like the ChapTones. I know two or three times a week I get to go to rehearsal with the people I love and care about, where we just bond with each other, love each other and go through everything with each other.”

Prior to interterm each year, The ChapTones practice twice a week, typically spending around four hours per week perfecting their music. But once ICCA rolls around, they increase rehearsals three times a week at seven total hours as they introduce choreography into their set. 

Aside from their quarter-finals victory, Simon told The Panther the highlight of her ChapTones experience is each time they nail a new piece for the first time. 

“Anytime we’re working on a piece and the first time we run through it where everything just clicks in with each other… there is really nothing that I can say to put into words just how special it is when a group of people just start singing all of a sudden and you don’t have to rely on any outside music, starting notes or instruments — you’re able to just start singing,” Simon said.

Applications for The ChapTones open in the fall semester. Updates can be found on The ChapTones Instagram page. Prospective performers can audition for several a cappella groups, each with different requirements. The ChapTones require auditioners to sing a cut of a song, recite scales and most importantly, show off their personality. Melber said that the most important aspect of the audition is seeing who can mesh with their group. 

“Our biggest thing is that we try to be a family,” Melber said. “That’s honestly how we choose who gets in the group, by asking, ‘Could they be a part of our family?’ We hang out a lot, we all love each other and every day we try to make sure whatever we're doing, we're having fun and doing what's best for the group.”

Tickets for The ChapTones’ semifinals performance are available for purchase. You can support them by donating to their GoFundMe page to help cover travel costs. The group will also be hosting a spring concert on campus on May 10 and will be releasing an EP with music from last year’s competition set titled “Dreamers Are Selfish” on March 31.