Marblehead a capella group wins national competition

MARBLEHEAD – Add some national recognition to the list for Marblehead High’s a capella music programs.Luminescence and the Jewel Tones attended the Las Vegas A Cappella Summit during the first weekend of October, a two-day event that brought together high school groups and their teachers for workshops and performances.A competition kicked off the summit on Friday night. Each of 11 groups from eight high schools performed a brief set and they were evaluated on a variety of musical and visual criteria.Luminescence won the title of Best Overall Performance, earning them the opportunity to perform a set at the Saturday night concert with professional a capella groups.Two members of Luminescence were also honored with individual awards: Katy Rein won best female soloist and Jen Taranto won best female vocal percussion.The event marked the first time that a Marblehead group has won a national competition, according to School Committee Chairman EuRim Chun.In the past, both the Jewel Tones and Luminescence have won regional awards. Tracks from their CDs were included on the 2008 and 2009 annual Varsity Vocals compilation CD, Best of High School A Cappella.