Fierce competition among Florida universities usually involves football or basketball.
This time, it’s singing.
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella will hold one of its quarterfinal rounds at 8 p.m. today at the P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center, 1080 SW 11th St.
The event features three groups from UF, three from the University of Central Florida and two from Florida State University. Tickets will cost $10 for students and $15 for adults.
Stephanie Bonfonte, president of The Sedoctaves, said the competition is always friendly among the groups, but the motivation to succeed is strong after not placing last year.
“We’re hoping to come back strong and take home the title this year,” she said.
The groups will be chosen at random and be given 12 minutes to perform, which usually means about three-song set lists, according to Jabari Taylor, the performance and music director of The Staff, the all-male male counterpart to The Sedoctaves.
Taylor said part of the difficulty with the competition is arranging the music and then adding choreography to it
Janine Romero, a 20-year-old UCF student and a member of Key Harmony, said that while she and her group are looking forward to the competition, they are mostly looking forward to the experience.
“It doesn’t really matter who wins,” Romero said. “I know it’s going to be great just to see what all the groups can pull off in the heat of competition.”