POTSDAM - A Clarkson University a cappella singing group performed in a regional competition just months after forming on campus.

The Ultravioletones traveled to Boston in January to compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella regional quarterfinals. It was a quick turnaround for the 10-member Ultravioletones, which had formed the previous semester.

The singers submitted an audition video on Nov. 1 and found out in mid-November that they were headed to Boston.

“When we submitted it, we really weren’t sure,” said Daniel LaCombe ’13, a mechanical engineering major from DeWitt. “When we found out, we were all really excited and really happy.”

Lacombe had wanted to enter such a competition since he was a freshman and decided to make his dream a reality in his final year at Clarkson. A few other Ultravioletones members had been inspired by the 2012 movie “Pitch Perfect,” which involved a college a cappella group’s quest to win a singing competition, LaCombe said.

The group only had two weeks to rehearse when they returned to campus for the spring semester before traveling to the competition.

“It was pretty crazy. We had to accelerate everything,” LaCombe said. “It was rehearsal every night for a couple of weeks.”

The Ultravioletones performed “Below My Feet” by Mumford and Sons, “Figure 8” by Ellie Goulding, and “Wannabe/I Want You Back” by Spice Girls/NSYNC in Boston.

While the group did not advance, LaCombe said the experience will hopefully pave the way for future competitions.

“It was definitely a cool experience being the first group from Clarkson to go to the competition,” LaCombe said.

The other Ultravioletones members are Ryan Ericson’13, an electrical engineering major from Lansboro, Mass.; Kenneth Mark ’14, a mechanical engineering major from Dansville; Joseph Camilo ’13, an electrical engineering major from Honeoye Falls; Sarah Maryhugh ’15, a biology major from Watertown; Aisha Wood ’13, a biology major from Argyle; Allison Reid ’14, an engineering and management major from Millbrook; Aaliyah Gibbons ’16, a social sciences major from Lawrenceville, N.J.; Sarah Miele ‘16, a civil engineering major from Queensbury; and Michael Lee ‘16, an aeronautical and mechanical engineering major.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer