When Horizon members learned they had been accepted into the ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinal, the news spread quickly.
“I woke up and the group chat was already filled with texts,” said Dash Mangrulkar, a sophomore musical theater major and vice president of Horizon. “Everyone was like, ‘We got into the competition. We got in.’”
Mangrulkar described the moment as an insane feeling, especially because Horizon is the first a cappella group from Columbia to qualify for the competition.
Horizon will compete Saturday, Feb. 7, in the 2026 ICCA Great Lakes Quarterfinal at the University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall. The group was accepted on its first attempt, a milestone that surprised and energized members.
“It kind of solidified, okay now we actually got to pick it up and get going,” said Briyanna Manzanares, president of Horizon and a junior contemporary, jazz, and popular music major.
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella is the largest and most prominent a cappella competition for college groups in the world. It is organized by Varsity Vocals, which also runs similar championships for high school and professional ensembles.
Columbia will compete against groups from Northwestern University, Eastern Illinois University, North Central College, University of Illinois, University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin Madison and Parkside campuses.
“This is our first time competing ever, I don’t want to put any pressure to place top three, or make it to semifinals, or anything,” Manzanares said.
As the competition approaches, Manzanares said nerves have set in, especially after several members became sick during rehearsals this week. Still, she said the group is focused on performing confidently and enjoying the experience.
“To be able to walk off and just say that we did it and we worked hard and we gave it our best, that’s what I’m looking forward to and my main goal.”
College students compete against each other with up to 10-minute sets. There are nine regions included in the quarter finals: West, Southwest, Midwest, Great Lakes, Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, South and United Kingdom, and there are three to five quarterfinals per region.
The first place team and runner up of the quarter final advance to their regions semi final, where the semifinal champion would move on to the ICCA finals in New York City.
The musical groups are judged on both vocals and choreography.
Mangrulkar said that their set includes songs with different themes, and it represents their group’s music taste well. They said their set includes songs from artists Imogen Heap, Thundercat and Tori Kelly.
“We’re a lot of music students and art students, so it’s very indicative of our favorite songs and the songs that we respect as musicians,” Mangrulkar said.
Samar Elfaki, junior music composition major and team treasurer, said she was excited for the opportunity.
“I’m just overall excited, I know tomorrow is gonna be a fun day, and it’s gonna be a new life experience,” she said. “It’s obviously a huge honor and a cool thing I get to do, it’s like a bucket list check off, I’m down for the ride. I’m just excited and feeling grateful.”
Copy edited by Samantha Mosquera
