Congratulations to Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alum Zac Richey ’21, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Musical Theatre with a Minor in Stage Combat.

Richey is a member of the Westminster Chorus, a men’s a capella chorus based in Westminster, California – and the group won the Barbershop Harmony Society‘s 2024 international choral festival held June 30 through July 7 in Cleveland, Ohio, making them this year’s International Chorus Champions. Here’s a video of the ensemble’s performance of “Always Starting Over,” from the 2014 musical If/Then, by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, beautifully displaying the Westminster’s winning combination of lush, shimmering, perfectly blended vocals and dramatic theatricality:

And here’s a video of the chorus’ ballad selection, “Hard To Say I’m Sorry/You’re the Inspiration“:

Founded in 1938 as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, the Barbershop Harmony Society preserves and extends the reach of a uniquely American close harmony musical art form whose roots lie in African-American improvisation and European harmony traditions. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the nonprofit organization provides active programs and resources in music education, publishing, performance, and community outreach.