The 7th annual Wyvern Invitational A Capella Festival, held at Kingswood Oxford in West Hartford, attracted nearly 200 students from throughout the region.

KO’s Oxfordians placed 3rd among female groups. Submitted photo

Submitted by Kingswood Oxford School

Kingswood Oxford singers had their best showing ever in the Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival (WIAF), the largest independent high school a cappella festival in New England, held in KO’s Roberts Theater on Jan. 10, 2015.

The 7^th annual event, which was sold out in early December, attracted nearly 200 students from 12 schools in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This is the largest number of schools the event can accommodate; currently, there is a waiting list of about 30 groups that wish to be invited to compete in the future.

“What impresses me most about this festival is the student-centered nature of the performances – not one director set foot on stage,” said KO Music teacher Christen Hernandez. ”All of the groups sounded fantastic, and our KO ensembles really stepped up and sounded amazing.”

Kingswood Oxford’s Crimson 7 came in 1st among male groups and 2nd overall. Submitted photo

KO singers won awards in several categories:

• Crimson 7, the all-male group, placed 1^st among males and 2nd overall
• Matt Guerrera ’15 of Newington was named best Student Choreographer
• The Oxfordians, the all-female group, placed 3rd among females
• Josh Pugliese ’16 of Bolton placed 2^nd in the first-ever “Viewer’s Choice Beatbox Battle,” through which the audience voted via mobile devices during the competition

Be S#arp, a coed group from Conard High School, came in 1^st overall, and the 18 Wheelers, a coed group from Wheeler School in Providence, placed 3^rd.

“This festival is a chance for high school singing groups to celebrate music with each other and learn new ways to enhance their artistry and musicianship in a fun and inviting, yet competitive way,” said David Baker ’04, a KO History and Music teacher and a co-chair of the WIAF Committee, which also includes KO faculty and staff members Ron Garcia, Todd Millen, Christen Hernandez, Rebecca Urrutia, Mark Kravetz, Juan Martinez, and Dan Bateson.

The WIAF is also a fundraiser for Team Tobati, a community service group through which KO students and others raise money and provide hands-on assistance to the impoverished village of Tobati, Paraguay.

This year, more than $13,000 was raised from the WIAF and KO’s Ryan Gordon ’05 Hockey Night, which was held on Jan. 9 in KO’s Brayton Rink.

Baker said that a key to the smooth operation of this very large event was an army of “Wyvern Ambassadors” – coordinated by Reilly Callahan ’15 and Luisa Lestz ’15 — who take care of myriad behind-the-scenes tasks, ranging from taking tickets and selling refreshments to escorting the various groups of competitors from practice rooms to the stage and back again. “They did a phenomenal job,” said Baker.

“This festival reminds me why KO is the great community that we know and love,” he concluded. “The WIAF is a celebration of artistry, but it’s also a celebration of community – the KO community, the West Hartford community, the New England community, and, considering our connection to Paraguay, the global community.”

Kingswood Oxford has long been known for educating resourceful problem solvers; clear, confident communicators; and innovative and ethical leaders, here and across the globe. For information about September 2015 enrollment, contact the Admissions Office (860-727-5000). Only those applications received by Feb. 2, 2015, will be eligible for merit scholarships, for which financial need is not a prerequisite.