A cappella groups from across the country waited in the wings of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts stage, preparing to perform in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Southwest Semifinals. Among them, for the first time in 11 years, was UC San Diego’s premier a cappella group, the Tritones.
“It is kind of a huge deal for us,” said Tritones’ co-marketing chair and mezzo-soprano singer Abigail-Monique Frondoza. “The group itself … [has] been putting their blood, sweat, and tears into it, so advancing to the semifinals felt super rewarding.”
The Tritones were one of 10 groups competing at the southwest semifinals, with the winning team qualifying for the ICCA’s championship in New York City later this month. Though the Tritones’ season ended in the semifinals, their 2026 run was one of the best in the group’s 30-year history.
The Tritones’ preparations for this historic year began in summer 2025, when music directors Jake Goldman, Indeera Pujar, and Maya Bangalore chose the music for its 10-minute set. As a group whose repertoire focuses on funk and R&B music, they decided on an energetic and soulful medley of “No Peace,” originally by Sam Smith and Yebba; “LUCID DREAMS,” originally by Leon Thomas and Masego; and “The Magazine,” originally by Zinadelphia.
Besides sticking to the group’s musical roots, this year’s set leaned into one of Tritones’ biggest strengths: movement grounded in emotion and authenticity. Performance director Lasya Gangadari began choreographing the set over the summer, but left room to build upon it after rehearsals began in the fall.
“Seeing how the group responded and their ideas themselves were incorporated, so it was an ongoing process,” Gangadari said. “We took a lot of time to be introspective and kind of connect to the songs, as individuals and as a group.”
To Tritones co-marketing chair and baritone Thomas Le, this emotional depth set the Tritones apart from other groups, leading them to earn second place in their quarterfinals competition, held at UCSD on Feb. 7.
“The experience of going to quarterfinals and feeling how visceral and cathartic that experience was, to be in front of a stage and be truly out there and show all aspects of yourself, was — it was insane,” Le said.
The Tritones’ set opened on “No Peace,” a duet featuring soloists Monique-Frondoza and Arenzana, who embodied the visceral grief of losing a lover; at the song’s climax, the ensemble split into two, with each half of the group backing up one soloist as they circled one another in an electric, center-stage duel.
“That specific part of the choreography … is actually my favorite part ever because it kind of mirrors what our goal is throughout the entire set,” Gangadari said. “I just really wanted the ensemble to be connected to the soloists and not just doing their own thing, so that was kind of my motto for the whole set.”
In “LUCID DREAMS,” soloist Seth Tambua paced the stage as he recounted the tragedy of losing someone he loved. The ensemble’s polished, angular formations often scattered into moments of perfectly coordinated chaos, encapsulating an emotional motif that Tambua simply described as “anguish.”
“What we’ve been able to accomplish leading up to Arizona furthermore allowed us to understand what each song’s message is, and put all of those feelings together for us to portray those certain emotions, which really made our entire set provide a ‘storytelling’ tone,” Tambua said.
“The Magazine,” featuring soloist Alisa Costello, opened on a haunting, layered hum from the ensemble. This set the tone for a bittersweet performance that told the story of a toxic relationship leading to dangerous coping mechanisms.
The Tritones approached the audience in a line before crumbling into a cluster around Costello, their voices blending, crescendoing, and dying off into a smooth and poignant hum until the group suddenly slumped over. A striking silence filled the theater for just a moment before the audience erupted into applause.
“I think it’s really beautiful how each and every one of us is able to be ourselves and express ourselves so unapologetically, and I think that ties into why our set itself is so vulnerable,” Frondoza said. “I think that our music directors fully trusted that we were able to sit with our own personal connections with the heavy themes of the music and express that in a way that can connect with so many others, in a very human way.”
With the 2026 season behind them, the Tritones are now focused on preparations for their spring concert, future gigs, and possibly reentering into the ICCA next year. To Gangadari, this year’s run was not just a historic accomplishment, but the beginning of a new competitive era for the Tritones.
“In the a cappella community, I think that we’ve really made a mark and placed ourselves a little bit higher, which we’re incredibly proud about and very humble about,” Gangadari said. “Seeing all these different schools and their passion for music just increases our love for it even more, so I think that’s what we’re going to keep bringing in our next years.”
