From the top Acapella March 21, 2025

On March 21, 2025, From the Top acapella competed at the International Championship of High School Acapella (ICHSA) semi-finals held in Hilliard, Ohio, just outside of Columbus. After being named quarter-final champions, the group had high hopes of placing first and earning a trip to New York where they would compete against high schools from all across the United States and United Kingdom.

During their travels, the group faced a difficult challenge as their bus got a flat tire. This led to them having to video call into the meeting with all the choirs but they stayed resilient anyway.

Finally arriving at Bradley High School in Hilliard, Ohio, the choir begins getting ready for sound check at 6:00. Senior Hannah Hoover is helping junior Summer Swanzy curl her hair.

The choir has a practice run-through and an encouraging conversation leading up to their sound check on the unfamiliar stage. Director Jack Philipson leads this powwow and urges his singers to forget their worries and focus only on the task at hand.

Top Left: Seniors Skylar Denyes and Amiyah Shaw are using laughter to distract the from their worries as they await their rehearsal. Top Middle: Sophomores Miana Rodriguez and Jada Smith are seen comforting one another in line. Top Right: Senior Rory Morter is giving fellow senior Dustin Schmidt a pep-talk before they take the stage. Bottom: The group is deliberating what their most unique quality is - the question each choir was asked and shared on stage before their performance. The choir ultimately decided on sharing their handmade tie-dye t-shirts and bracelets a their most unique quality.

Each group gets a 15 minute sound check in order to familiarize themselves with the sound and space. Hoover and Schmidt open up the set of songs with their rendition of "Barton Hallow" by the Civil Wars.

Top: The choir uses different formations to create an eye-catching scene for the audience. Bottom: Schmidt sings toward the crowd and conveys the story of a felon. Each acapella set is scored by the judges based off vocals, the storyline and visual appeal.

Senior Addison Venno begins the second song of the set, a combination of "Snow Angel" by Renee Rap and "Favorite Crime" by Olivia Rodrigo.

Denyes sings her heart-wrenching solo on "Favorite Crime". Her task is to appeal to the audience's and the judges' emotions.

Denyes and Venno close out the song with a powerful duet.

Junior Kendra Dame opens the final song "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye.

Before the competition, the groups pull numbers from a hat in order to determine the order they will perform. From the Top received number 10, the final show of the night, meaning they had to pull out all the stops. This also meant they had a long wait ahead of them before their turn to take the stage.

Top: Hoover and Schmidt share their stage chemistry to the audience as they begin their official performance. Bottom Left: Junior Anabella Pfaff sings background vocals during the duet. Bottom Right: Sophomore Alice Czechowskyj and Dame are posing still in preparation.

Hoover performs a visual appealing part of the song while walking down a line past her other group members. They each turn as she passes by.

Junior Isabelle Neely has emotional facials to convey the story to the audience.

The performers reach out toward the viewers to add depth to their visuals.

Left: Senior Race Mashburn and Neely sing toward each other during the ending of "Favorite Crime" and "Snow Angel".

Dame performs her solo in the final song of the set. She is surrounded by the background vocals and isolated spatially in order to showcase her even more.

Shaw closes out the performance with her solo during "Somebody I Used to Know."

Her powerful vocal are emphasized by the background singers and are a strong ending to the set.

The group finishes the final performance of the night.

Denyes, Shaw, Hoover and Mashburn are in the front row as the groups all join each other on stage and await the announcement of who placed first. While the group did not place, they were still filled with pride regarding their amazing show.