A Cappella Festival

We are excited to offer a reimagined A Cappella Festival, with world-class A Cappella Clinician, Rob Dietz which will provide students with a full day of learning, a mass choir experience, and an evening concert. A Cappella groups of various levels are encouraged to participate. Intermediate/Advanced ensembles can opt into a featured performance spot in the evening concert and a one-on-one Master Class with our clinician. Beginning ensembles and individual A Cappella singers are encouraged to join by performing with the mass choir and observing clinics and performances throughout the day. 


High school and junior high/middle school contemporary and pop a cappella ensembles are welcome to attend! This is a non-adjudicated festival that features performances of genres such as jazz, barbershop, novelty, pop, contemporary a cappella, and more. We know that your students are doing beautiful work at Solo and Ensemble and Choral Festival, but here is a way to showcase the great work that your students are doing in these alternative genres.


Be the Audience! We strongly encourage groups to participate as audience members as well as performers for as much of the festival as possible.


Registration & Payment

  • Intermediate/Advanced Ensemble Registration: Ensembles wishing to reserve a spot in the evening concert and a Master Class with our Clinician

    • Fees: $200

    • These students will perform in the Mass Choir, which will feature an arrangement by Rob Dietz.

    • First come/first serve, with adjustments to the schedule to accommodate as many groups as possible

    • Audition may be required if we have more groups than expected.


  • Beginning Ensembles: Ensembles of four or more, wishing to participate by observing and performing in the Mass Choir

    • Fees: $100/per ensemble

    • These students will perform in the Mass Choir,

  •  
  • Individual Participation: Individuals wishing to participate by observing and performing in the Mass Choir 

    • Fees: $25/per performer. 

    • These students will also perform in the Mass Choir, which will feature an arrangement by Rob Dietz

  • Audience: Audience members-suggested gift is $10 to help provide more quality a cappella experiences for MSVMA members. 
    • Evening Concert Only

    • No registration. Gifts can be made at the door. All are welcome!


Payment can be made by school check or director’s personal check payable to MSVMA and must be postmarked by the deadline. Fees can also be made via credit card. Purchase orders are acceptable at the postmark deadline, but the State Office must receive payment one week prior to the festival.


MSVMA

P.O. Box 1131 

Big Rapids, MI 49307


A Cappella Clinician

Rob Dietz

Rob Dietz is a multiple award-winning singer and vocal percussionist who has been arranging, composing, teaching, and performing contemporary A Cappella music for over twenty years. Based in Los Angeles, Rob is best known for his work as an arranger and group coach for NBC’s The Sing-Off. Through his work as an arranger, Rob has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the top talent in the vocal music world including Grammy award-winning groups Pentatonix and The Swingles, Voiceplay, Kings Return, and many more. He has been a contributing arranger for performances by world-renowned artists including Smokey Robinson, Flo Rida, Sara Bareilles, Incubus, and Pat Benatar. His arrangements have been featured on several TV shows, including America’s Got Talent (NBC), To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You(Netflix), and Pitch Slapped (Lifetime).


A native of Ithaca, NY, Rob got his start singing in high school as a member of the a cappella quintet, Ascending Height, with whom he wrote and produced the first ever album of all original music at the high school level. He graduated from Ithaca College in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in music and an outside field in business. While at Ithaca, Rob had the honor of directing the all male-identified group, Ithacappella, with whom he twice advanced to the finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. He was also a member of both the Ithaca College Chorus and the Ithaca College Choir -the college’s select, touring vocal ensemble.


As a performer, Rob is an award-winning vocal percussionist, and his distinctive sound has been featured on several TV shows, including FOX's Glee and The Late Late Show with James Corden. Rob was the founding vocal percussionist for both The Funx and Level, groups that gave him the opportunity to work with legendary performers including Jay Leno and Demi Lovato.  


Rob has a deep passion for a cappella education, and is a founding co-director (along with Ben Bram and Avi Kaplan) of A Cappella Academy. In addition to his work with Academy, Rob is also the director of Legacy: an auditioned, community youth a cappella group based in Los Angeles. Since the group’s inception, Legacy has performed twice at Carnegie Hall, and has won the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival’s Scholastic Competition, the Southwest semifinal round of the Varsity Vocals A Cappella Open, and the Finals of the International Championship of High School A Cappella at Lincoln Center. Rob is a sought after presenter and clinician who has led vocal music workshops at events such as the National A Cappella Convention and the ACDA National convention. He is the author of A Cappella 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Contemporary A Cappella Singing, published by Hal Leonard. 


Alongside his work in contemporary a cappella music, Rob is an avid choral composer, with work published by Alfred Music Publishing, Hal Leonard, and GIA Publications. In 2021 his piece “The Gift” received a jury commendation as part of the King’s Singers New Music Prize competition. His pieces continue to be performed by choirs from all over the world. Rob currently serves as the national repertoire and resources co-chair for Contemporary/Commercial music for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).



Festival Information

Each ensemble will perform one to three pieces of music in a contemporary A Cappella style (music is not to 

exceed 12 minutes) and will work with a clinician who will provide expert advice from within the field of A Cappella. For the groups that are able to sing more than one piece of music, we suggest one of the pieces be performed in a “classic” A Cappella style (open to interpretation at this point). It is expected that participants will follow the spirit of copyright law.


Movement or choreography appropriate to the style of your selections is encouraged, but choreography is

not required.


The festival will be recorded for archival purposes and the director of each group will receive a copy of their

group’s performance.


Sound Equipment Provided

Festival organizers will provide the following for the use of ensembles:

  • wireless handheld microphones - tuned for vocal percussion - 1, bass - 1 and solos/harmony - 3
  • floor microphones or overhead area microphones
  • monitors
Microphone use is not required. Information for sound requests will be obtained when your group arrives to check in at Festival.


Megan Sinclair

Director of Specialized Festivals

megansinclair@msvma.org

May 2, 2024 
Skyline High School
2552 North Maple Road
Ann Arbor, MI 

Lyn CieChanski

Coordinator

lynciechanski@msvma.org

Registration Opens:

January 25, 2024

Registration Deadline:

April 15, 2024

                                                                                                  

Michigan School Vocal Music Association

P.O. Box 1131

Big Rapids, MI 49307-1131

(231) 592 - 9344


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