A native of the Upstate New York region, Betsy was first introduced to contemporary a cappella in the late 1990's by her "soon to retire, but utterly hip" high school choral director. Becoming instantly hooked to the genre and subculture of collegiate a cappella, Betsy created opportunities for female a cappella (after finding none!) upon entering her freshman year of college. She founded her university's first all female a cappella group and under her direction, led the group to record three studio albums and compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
After graduating with her Bachelors of Music in music education in 2005, Betsy immediately pursued her Masters of Music degree, all while remaining active on the a cappella scene. Her first item of business actually involved applying to become an adjudicator for Varsity Vocals, where she has been serving as a judge for the ICCA's ever since.
Being a high school choral director for the past eight years, Betsy gradually transitioned the school's select vocal ensemble, Vocal Point, into an exclusive contemporary a cappella group. During the 2013-2014 school year, Vocal Point participated in the Disney Performing Arts program, competed in the International Championship of High School A Cappella, and recorded a professional studio album. The students have begun playing an active part in the process by arranging songs, choreographing movement, and rehearsing outside of school (sans their director!).
Betsy is proud to be a member of the A cappella Education Association and is absolutely stoked to see this current, and extremely valuable and educational, trend in music education.
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