Northview — On a weekday evening in the choir room at Northview High School, members of the From the Top a cappella vocal ensemble are trying to get their collective “bah-da-bahs” to land on the exact right beat.
“Bah-da-bah, da-bah-da, bah-dabba-da,” the singers chant in unison, eyes glued to the sheet music in front of them, as director Jack Phillipson stomps his foot on the floor to keep time. But wait — somebody’s “dabba-da” came in a millisecond off. Phillipson calls time.
“I’d rather you have a wrong word (at the) right time, than right word, wrong time,” he gently corrects the students. “If it’s ‘ba’ instead of ‘da,’ but it’s on the right sixteenth note, we’re happy. If it’s the perfect words but you’re a beat late — you’re a beat late. No good.”
Some students roll their eyes good-naturedly but smile as they flip back a page in their music to restart the song. Or, put in musical terms, they…take it from the top.
‘Music at a high level, and challenging yourself with the arts, is absolutely giving you the key to success for the future.’
— director Jack Phillipson
From the Top is an extracurricular, audition-only group dedicated to singing a cappella, meaning all notes and sounds are produced exclusively by voice, without instrumental accompaniment. Many modern-day a cappella groups are known for their creative arrangements of pop music, choreography and high-energy competitions, thanks in part to the 2012 hit movie, “Pitch Perfect.”
“It’s not exactly like that (movie), but it’s not that far off, either,” ensemble member Haydin Perry says with a smile. “(From the Top) really is just like a bunch of music nerds in a room, just jamming out together and bringing that energy.”
Putting in the Work
Phillipson started From the Top at Northview High in 2019, wanting to give students a dedicated outlet to sing contemporary or pop music. The ensemble came out strong right from the start, winning quarterfinals in the International Championship of High School A Cappella in spring 2020 — its first year — in 2024, and again this year.
As an extracurricular choir, the group typically rehearses two nights per week, 2.5 hours at each rehearsal. Students are also required to be in a curricular music class during the school day, such as music production or one of the high school’s four choirs, to take part.
“It’s like having a complete extra class per week, while juggling their academic and work and athletic practice schedules,” said Phillipson, NHS’ choir director, school musical director, and music production and engineering teacher. “But everybody finds a way to prioritize it. Everybody comes in at night carrying a different amount of baggage from their day, but then they come here and we get to just create together.
“(The students) see each other really well. They form this trust with each other early on, that everybody’s gonna put in the work and be ready at rehearsal time, and it’s just a joy to be part of.”
Auditions are open to all grade levels and the ensemble’s size is fluid depending on the voices interested; at 17 members, this year’s group is the largest since it began. Phillipson puts together most of the vocal arrangements right now, but the students often take the lead in selecting the songs and putting their sets together.
Senior Skylar Denyes calls From the Top “an escape from all the other worries.” She joined the ensemble as a junior and said the experience has given her not only greater confidence as a singer and soloist, but also a new appreciation for how to arrange and experience music.
“(Phillipson) writes the parts to fit our voices specifically — it’s so personalized, which is so nice,” said Skylar, who is also part of the high school’s Varsity Voices choir. “You don’t get that with choral music, where the sheet music is already done.
“It is so fun, being able to sing with 16 other unique voices. In a cappella, Mr. Phillipson celebrates us all sounding different. We have some amazing singers here, and it’s so refreshing to understand that even though my voice doesn’t sound like yours, I’m still a good singer too. It’s so cool to see 17 people from 17 backgrounds, four different grades, all coming together and just being uniquely talented.”
Hidden Talents, New Challenges
As a competitive a cappella ensemble, the format allows students to take on new challenges as musicians, such as solos and movement, and tap into hidden talents.
Haydin, a junior, is one such example. He auditioned for From the Top as a freshman at the invitation of Phillipson, who had seen Haydin beatboxing in eighth grade. Haydin said he grew up making beats with his mouth for fun, but had no idea that “it’s like an actual thing people do.”
Now, in From the Top, he serves as lead VP — that’s “vocal percussion” — along with singing bass.
“The songs that we do fit my style of music better, so I enjoy it more (than traditional choral music),” Haydin said. “I think it’s more expressive because it’s all voices, so everything you hear is somebody putting real passion behind it. … It’s people singing with each other in such a way that you can tell everybody here has a connection to the music. They feel it.”
He’s also grown up alongside the choir, from an “intimidated” freshman to a seasoned veteran stepping into more leadership within the ensemble.
“I was pretty lucky to have supportive upperclassmen (in the group) when I joined, so I’m always willing to help,” he said. “Honestly, it doesn’t feel like a leadership role; it feels just like helping out some friends. … We all know that we want to sound as good as possible.”
Skylar also took on a new challenge this year, as one of the group’s choreographers. When she first joined the choir, she worried about adding movement to her singing, but has since come to value the combination.
“We literally would sit there listening to the songs, and just start moving based on what we felt, and if something worked, it worked,” she said of the choreography process. “Once you learn to correlate and build those pathways between the movement and the music, it becomes something so much more special — your movements are telling the story more than the music could alone.
From the Top, Live
See From the Top in concert one last time this spring at the high school Pops Concert, featuring all Northview High choirs.
Concerts are scheduled this week Tuesday and Wednesday, May 6 and 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Max Colley Jr. Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5 at the door.
“Being able to choreograph was such a gift; I’m so glad (Phillipson) let me do it.”
Independence and Dedication
At competition, From the Top performs without a director, meaning Phillipson gets to sit in the audience and take in the results of their hard work like a regular audience member. He said he’s “constantly in awe of these incredibly talented students.”
Most of them won’t pursue music professionally, the director acknowledged, but they’re still learning valuable life skills. Whether that’s working together to solve tricky passages, taking judges’ feedback to improve their performance, or helping with musical arrangements to elevate each other’s voices, he said this ensemble is beyond capable.
“This group has such an independence and dedication that’s different than what I do during the school day,” Phillipson said. “And that independence is just proof that music at a high level, and challenging yourself with the arts, is absolutely giving you the key to success for the future. I watch them and I go, ‘Oh my gosh, you are so ready to be amazing at whatever you do.’”
Read more from Northview:
• Career unit helps prepare students for ‘life’s next step’
• Fourth-grade choristers come together in song
