Mayta Cohen ’24 Awarded Outstanding Soloist in A Cappella Competition

Mayta Cohen ’24 recently participated in a virtual a cappella competition, “The International Championship of A Cappella Open,” with her a cappella group, “Inside Voices.” The group took third place in the semifinals and Cohen, a first-year music major, was awarded outstanding soloist.

The event was held through Varsity Vocals, a global tournament which showcases the art of student a cappella and “encourages singers to bring together groups of any age, experience or origin to form a cappella ‘dream teams.’ ”

Cohen, of Boston, Massachusetts, competed with her virtual a cappella group, made up of 14 singers who come from all over the U.S. and Canada. “By connecting in a Facebook group during the beginning of the pandemic, we virtually joined together as a way to keep our love for a cappella music alive during such a challenging time,” Cohen says. “With members from different countries, backgrounds, and skill sets, we created a passionate team where we arrange and produce all our own music.”

Cohen says it also was a great project to be a part of because she was able to play a large part of arranging the set. She co-arranged the first song in their set, “Just Fine,” by Mary J. Blige, with another group member, Nick Gomez-Colon of the University of Delaware. “Although we’ve been a group for about a year, I’ve never met any of our members in person. Regardless, Nick and I were able to collaborate on a product we’re both really proud of by sending sheet music back and forth and talking over the phone,” she says.

“This was a very exciting award for me. I learned about this competition through the movie ‘Pitch Perfect,’ and since then, I’ve hoped to get to compete in it someday,” she says.

The competition was live streamed in early April, but the set can be viewed here. (FYI: Cohen is the vocalist with the snow and mountain Colorado backdrop. Eve Stewart ’24 took the video on the Tiger Trail walkway, west of McGregor Hall.)