NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The path to success can be filled with unexpected hurdles. An a capella group at Belmont University was certainly served an obstacle. After an international competition over the weekend, that group is living proof of why you shouldn't give up.
A group of guys makes their performance look easy, but it's not. Eighteen people balancing vocals and choreography has been rehearsed to perfection.
"Just once or twice before you came in, I think," laughed Chris Wiper, speaking at a rehearsal.
"We are The Pitchmen," said Andrew Holkomb.
"It's a lot of talented people," added Sean Murphy.
"We are an all-male a capella group at Belmont University," said Jake Mangel.
Chris, Jake, Andrew and Sean are the group seniors.
"I feel super lucky to be part of this group," said Chris.
"We're all best friends," Jake continued. "The amount of drive and talent that's in the room, you can just feel it when we're performing."
Back when these four seniors were all freshmen, they were competing in what's called the ICCAs.
"It is the International Championships of Collegiate A capella," Chris said. "If you've seen 'Pitch Perfect,' the ICCAs, that's what they go to. We won our semifinal round which meant we were gonna get to advance to our final round."
It was a huge deal, hard work paying off. The Pitchmen were ready to fly to New York to compete in the ICCA finals. However, that was 2020.
"COVID took it away from us," said Andrew.
"The whole thing got canceled," Jake said.
The music hit pause. After countless hours of work on campus, the pursuit of the goal was just over.
"It was incredibly deflating," Chris remembered.
"To have that taken away from us was heartbreaking," Jake added.
"There was definitely a three-day period of complete denial," Andrew said.
"Devastated," Sean said with a nod.
The Pitchmen, of course, eventually started performing together again, but there was the question of if they could manage to get to the ICCA finals again.
"That group from 2020 was just lightning in a bottle that we couldn't make happen again," Chris said.
Or maybe they could. The Pitchmen won the ICCA semi-finals again and headed over the weekend to New York. That chance Chris, Jake, Andrew, and Sean had taken away as freshmen, they were being given again as seniors.
"We're ready to finish what we started," Jake smiled.
"I feel really, really lucky to be here with these guys right here, right now," said Sean.
"2020 wasn't a fluke," said Jake. "The Pitchmen are here to stay. We're here to show the world what we got."
On stage at The Town Hall Theatre in New York, the Pitchmen waited to hear how they placed.
An announcer read the results. "The 2023 ICCA Champions, the Pitchmen!"
The group chanted together. "Who are we?" "PITCHMEN!" "What are we?" "PITCHMEN!"
