The William Floyd Acasations, the combined a cappella groups of the Soundsations and Acabellas, recently had the opportunity to perform at the SingStrong NY a cappella festival at Adelphi University in early February! This prestigious festival featured professional a cappella groups from around the world working and performing with collegiate and high school groups!

The Acasations, under the direction of Donia Rivera and Michelle Seifert, were one of just 13 groups (and the largest consisting of 41 members) from across the country selected to participate! This is the second consecutive year that the Acasations have been selected for this honor! To be considered, the group had to submit a recording of a performance.

“We are incredibly proud of the students,” said music teachers and group directors Michelle Seifert and Donia Rivera. “They feed off of each other during the creative process, and in the end, they build a fantastic arrangement that sounds amazing and really entertains the audience. The experience is invaluable and we can't thank our district enough for supporting them!”

The festival included classes on beatboxing, barbershop, overtone singing and general performing. Students also participated in a 45-minute clinic with Christian Diaz, a member of Midtown, the No. 1 ranked barbershop quartet in the world! The event culminated with a high school competition concert, and students were able to take in a show featuring professional groups including The Swingle Singers, Midtown and Classic Sounds!

Students also greatly enjoyed the festival, three of whom recapped their experience.

“SingStrong was an unforgettable, incredible experience that we are all so honored to have had,” said senior Jocelyn Volpe. “The healthy competition keeps us on our toes, and we are so lucky to learn and improve from them each year and hopefully many more to come!”

Freshman Avery Morano said, “For my first time being there, SingStrong was a fun and unique experience. I really enjoyed some of the classes I went to and I loved performing with all of my friends. It was, overall, a great experience.”

Shirley Galindo Jeronimo, also a freshman, added, “Going to SingStrong was an experience I will never forget. Seeing all these other groups performing and supporting each other throughout the day was amazing!”