
Welcome to the Ramsey A Cappella Festival!
We are so excited you've joined us for an evening of outstanding A Cappella music!
The Ensembles
(in alphabetical order)
Harmonics
Harmonics is a the only a cappella group at Newton High School. This is their first competition and are excited to be here with so many excellent groups!
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Sponsored Charity: Benny's Bodega
Highland Voices
Highlands Voices makes their home at faraway Northern Highlands Regional High School in neighboring Allendale, NJ. Voices have been ICHSA national champions, seven time Mid-Atlantic champions, and National A Cappella Convention champions. They were featured on the Lifetime TV series “Pitch Slapped” , and can be seen (and heard) in the movie “Marry Me” starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, and in Season 3 of “American Horror Stories”. They have performed workshops for NAfME, NJMEA, AEA, ACDA, Bergen Teen Arts, and host the annual Highlands A Cappella Festival which attracts some of the biggest a cappella coaches in the world to be instructors. In fact, they would love to have you join them on May 3rd. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube @highlandsvoices
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Sponsored Charity: ONOMA Community Outreach
Rebel Remix
Rebel Remix is Howell High School's Varsity A Cappella team! Beyond competing, they are well-known in their community for performing at local events, sporting games, and more, spreading their passion for performing across Monmouth County. Rebel Remix is so grateful for this opportunity, and would like to thank everyone at Ramsey for making this possible. If you’d like to keep up with Remix throughout the year, you can follow them on Instagram @rebelremix.hhs and TikTok @rebelremix!
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Sponsored Charity: The Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Rebelation
Rebelation is one of Howell High schools 3 Acapella teams.When we are not competing we are known in our community for performing in local events during the winter and spring time with our two sister teams Reverb and Rebel Remix .Rebelation is so grateful to be here today competing for their charity Big Hearts to Little Hearts and would like to thank Ramsey for making the possible! If you wanna keep up with them throughout the year please follow them at @rebelation_acapella!
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Sponsored Charity: Big Hearts to Little Hearts
Reverb
Reverb is a Co-ed A Capella team from Howell High School, their set follows a story of grief through anger, depression, and acceptance after a loss. They would like to highlight their three female vocal percussionists, Kaylee, Gabby, and Veronica, as well as their choreographers Riley and Kaylee!
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Sponsored Charity: The Jersey Battered Women's Service
SoundXplosion
Cresskill High School’s SoundXplosion, from Cresskill, N.J., is the school’s 13 member mixed a cappella group. SoundXplosion made the transition to contemporary a cappella in 2014. In addition, SoundXplosion was a part of the A&E Network’s television show, “Pitch Slapped”.
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The members cannot think of a better way than spending each and every day kicking back, and making the world a better place while sharing the gift of music with all who will listen! Follow us on Twitter @sound_xplosion and on Instagram at chssoundxplosion!
Sponsored Charity: Cresskill Cares
Stay Tuned
Since their inception in 2012, Stay Tuned from Cherry Hill East High School, created and directed by Heather Lockart, has experienced wild success, which instantly became widespread. They were selected to be featured on an 8-week Lifetime docuseries, Pitch Slapped, which aired during the winter of 2016. Since then, Stay Tuned has performed at the Kimmel Center, Lincoln Financial Field, The Town Hall, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall alongside the cast of the Pitch Perfect movies. Most recently, Stay Tuned has competed in two ICHSA Finals competitions amongst the top groups from across the nation in NYC. While the group has enjoyed such great national success, serving our community by sharing our love and passion for music with our local friends and supporters has always been our number one priority. The members of Stay Tuned are thankful for every performance opportunity they are given, and are always striving to inspire and bring joy to their audiences.
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Sponsored Charity: Oaks Integrated Care
Your Hosts
The Ramsey Blues
The Ramsey Blues is one of the two competitive a cappella groups within the Ramsey High School Choral program. The group was established in 2021 and has grown significantly since its inception. The ensemble contains students from various parts of the Ramsey High School community and participates in local concerts and festivals at Ramsey High School and in the North Jersey area. They are very excited to welcome everyone to our festival!
The Ram Jams
The Ram Jams is the principal competitive a cappella group within the Ramsey High School Chorus Program. The group represents the top auditioned students from within the chorus program and performs works from a wide variety of genres, including contemporary a cappella, classical choral repertoire, and new works. The ensemble was established in 2016 and is a yearly competitor in ICHSA, where they have earned the titles of Mid-Atlantic Champion and Runner-Up many times over the years. Most recently being named 2nd place in the ICHSA National Wildcard and earning a spot at ICHSA finals this April. Outside of competition, The Ram Jams have been invited to perform in many concerts and festivals, including invitations to ACDA Eastern conference, and as the first-ever student group featured at the NJMEA Gala concert. The Ram Jams’ recordings have been featured on BOHSA albums and they recently released their second album, Unchained, which is available on all digital platforms! They look forward to this festival for the opportunity to see the outstanding work being done across the A Cappella Community

Judges
Craig Simonetti
Craig Simonetti is a singer, beatboxer, and teacher specializing in a cappella. Combining his beatboxing skills developed through competition with his vocal flexibility cultivated over years of exploration, Craig's music represents a fusion of styles that pushes the boundaries of vocal performance. He’s released his unique flavor of pop-funk music on all streaming platforms and continuously seeks new ways to create and perform.
His expertise in beatboxing has earned him national and international titles, establishing him as a leading figure in the community. After years of training, Craig's beatbox duo, Forest Fire, claimed the title of USA Beatbox Champion in 2024. He is also a 2025 semifinalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition, a competition that demands flexibility, excellent technique, and diversity of repertoire. In addition, Craig has directed and performed with various vocal groups, sharing his expertise in vocal music and beatboxing with audiences and students worldwide.
Craig’s performances have taken him around the globe, from Central and Southeast Asia to Canada, Europe, and stages across the United States, where his talent continues to captivate diverse audiences. Armed with a Master's degree in Vocal Pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Craig brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his craft. He shares his passion as a voice teacher at Berklee College of Music, guiding and inspiring aspiring vocalists.
Mason Van Gieson
Mason Van Gieson is an actor, vocalist, and clinician based in New York City. You might know her as the Creative Director of women's vocal collective VICE A Cappella (@viceacappella) or as a member of BLACKOUT (@blackout_nyc). She is also a member of brand-new pro quintet Chasing Saturn (@chasingsaturnofficial). No stranger to Varsity Vocals, she is an alumna of the University of Michigan’s Amazin’ Blue and was a (not TOO long ago!) ICCA Finalist with them, serving as performance director and choreographing their cinematic set, “Chasing Love.” In addition to performing, Mason serves as a clinician for scholastic vocal groups around the nation, with a particular focus in helping students find the “why” behind their music. She also serves as Director of Recruitment for A Cappella Academy. For more, follow @masongvang www.masonvangieson.com.
Dr. Marc Silverberg
Dr. Marc Silverberg is a music educator, a cappella artist, and comedian. He has served
on the executive board of CASA.org as Director of Education, served as Head of Vocal Music at Five Towns College, and presented workshops on vocal improvisation at several AEA sponsored festivals, SUNY Purchase, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, The New York State School Music Association, the Nassau County PEAK Festival, the National A cappella Convention, The Oklahoma Arts Institute, and the American Choral Directors Association’s 2023 National Convention. In spring 2020, Dr. Silverberg released his first published book, co-written with Deke Sharon and Dr. J.D. Frizzell, with GIA Publications titled Teaching Music Through Performance in Contemporary A cappella. In addition to being an a cappella clinician, conductor, and performer, he has also written several dramatic works for various mediums. His original musical, He’s Not Himself, premiered Off-Broadway in 2012 as part of the New York Music Theatre Festival. In February 2025, Dr. Silverberg released his first theatrical-based video game, Possessed, on Steam. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware (B.M.), Westminster Choir College (M.M.), and Five Towns College (D.M.A.). Marcesilverberg.com
We're going back to Finals!
The Ram Jams need your help!
For the fourth time, The Ram Jams have advanced to the National Finals of the International Championship of High School A Cappella. On April 25th they will perform at The Town Hall with the other National Finalists for a chance at the ICHSA National Championship. These students have worked exceptionally hard to get to this point and have endured many hours of rehearsals, training, hard work, and performances to prepare them for this moment.
Travel and staying in New York for the ICHSA Finals weekend is an expensive venture, so we are running this fund drive to help with expenses related to travel, lodging, and rehearsal spaces in New York from April 24th - April 26th.
All donations will go to the RHS Chorus Parent Association (a registered 501c3 non-profit) to assist with this experience for our students.


Ramsey A Cappella Festival
April 5th, 2025
Reverb
Ramsey Blues
Rebelation
The Ram Jams & Ramsey Blues
Intermission
Rebel Remix
The Ram Jams
Thank You for coming!
We hope you enjoyed the performances of tonight's groups. Thank you for your support of these outstanding students!