By Jena Peterson
BYU?s Vocal Point took third place during a trip to the semifinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Saturday.
?It was a great experience and the guys did probably the best they?ve ever done,? said Vocal Point director James Stevens. ?They had a lot of fun and a lot of opportunities to sing, even in the shuttles and airports.?
When Vocal Point got off the plane in Salt Lake City, someone told them a soldier was getting back from Iraq and suggested they go sing something.
?So we went over and sang ?The Star-Spangled Banner? and the soldier just started crying,? Stevens said. ?It was a really neat opportunity.?
Even though the group took third, they said they enjoyed the experience and felt they performed well.
?We felt like we gave the best performance we?ve ever given in this competition,? said vocal percussionist Jimmy Dunn. ?But so did our competitors.?
Dunn, a 22-year-old pre-dental student from Shaker Heights, Ohio, won ?Most Outstanding Vocal Percussionist? in the competition for the second year in a row.
Dunn said the quality of the groups that were competing was higher than any he had ever seen.
?Vocal Point went first in the competition, which is a hard place to go.? Stevens said. ?Judges can kind of forget about you.?
At last year?s competition, Vocal Point placed first, but forfeited their spot in the finals because the competition was on a Sunday. They sent Mt. San Antonio California College?s ?Fermata Nowhere?, which took second, to the ICCA finals.
Over the last four years, Vocal Point has placed first in the semifinals in 2002 and 2004. Both years, the finals were on a Sunday and they didn?t go. In 2003 they placed second and the finals, like this year, were on a Saturday.
Dunn said he enjoys the irony.
?Our timing was impeccable,? he said, smiling sarcastically.
Overall the participants said they had fun and enjoyed the experience.
?It?s fun to get together with other groups and celebrate something you all love,? said Vocal Point member Dave Brown, 23, a linguistics major from Lafayette, Calif. ?It?s in the form of a competition, but it?s also a blast.?
Vocal Point will have a concert in the de Jong Concert Hall Friday, March 18. Tickets are $9 or $6 with BYU ID.