Have you ever seen Pitch Perfect and wondered what it is really like to be in an acapella group? CNU Acapella auditions took place last Saturday and The Captain’s Log had the chance to speak to several acapella groups here on campus.
There are five acapella groups here on campus. They include Extreme Measures, University Sounds, Trebled Youth, The Newport Pearls, and Take Note. With varying degrees of commitment and group dynamics, these groups have some helpful advice and insight into what being a part of an acapella group is like.
There are so many great things about being in an acapella group. Senior Emma Riddle, president of The Newport Pearls, shared that her favorite thing about acapella is the community. “We have a great community outside of our individual groups, but of course, I love getting to make music and memories with my amazing group of Pearls!” Junior Brenna McManus and Vice President of Take Note explained that her favorite thing about acapella is making music with “a genuine group of people.”
Junior Virginia Browning and President of University Sounds shared the story of her first time auditioning as a freshman, explaining that her nerves were eased by the kind and welcoming environment. “All of the groups and members have the best wishes for auditionees and want auditions to be as pain and nerve-free as possible”, Browning shared. Senior Cecile Chemezova and President of Take Note said that she almost didn’t audition for acapella since her musical background was mostly in musical theater, but that “there were so many people that wanted to talk to me and make me feel more comfortable, that I didn’t even have time to worry that I didn’t belong.”
Acapella is not only a great outlet for creativity, but a fun way to make friends with similar interests. Junior Adam Clyve and President of Extreme Measures talked about how his favorite part of acapella is being able to sing with his favorite people. “I have met almost all of my best friends and I am so grateful for the Acapella community.”
There are quite a few events surrounding the acapella community on campus, the most popular being Glow in the Darcapella. Glow is a glow in the dark event where each group gets to debut their new arrangements. “We love hearing all of the amazing music each group does,” Browning said. She also gives a shout out to the rest of the acapella community. “Usounds loves you guys!” Riddle shared, “It’s also so much fun getting to perform and see the support for acapella!” Other acapella events to look forward to include Blue Tie Affair, Acapella formal, spring concert and retreat. These groups have great memories from their respective retreats. Senior Kayla Hebb and President of Trebled Youth said they book an airbnb for a weekend in the mountains or in OBX and “just take the time to really bond together!” Sophomore Abiy Hailu and Music Director of Take Note said it’s a lot of fun to hangout with her group outside of rehearsals and that they can “just let go and have fun with each other.”
Something rather unique about acapella is the wide variety of songs the audience gets to hear from the groups. The Newport Pearls love to sing Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood, because of the energy it produces from the crowd. University Sounds loves to sing All Things End by Hozier because of “the build and the complexity of the harmonies in our arrangement. It’s also dynamically a very fun piece”, Browning shared. Sophomore Claire Smith and head of Public Relations of Take Note said her favorite song to sing is Teeth by Five Seconds of Summer.
All of the music performed by these groups is selected and composed entirely by students! Chemezova gave some insight into Take Note’s arrangement process. “We opt for making arrangements using vowels and phrases that the voice naturally sounds good on to evoke the vibe of a song, rather than trying to exactly recreate each instrument used in the original song.”
These groups have given us some insight into what there is to look forward to within each group. “All the groups are awesome in their own way!” Clyve goes on to explain that some groups, including his own, are higher commitment based on whether or not they compete at competitions. There are also different vocal dynamics within each group. Extreme Measures, University Sounds and Trebled Youth are co-ed groups. The Newport Pearls and Take Note are treble/women led groups. Chemezova shared that Take Note is the first group on campus to rebrand from an “all female group” to a “treble voices group”. She explained that it’s important to be “intentional in our language to make sure we are being inclusive, and in this case we wanted to make sure our group was a community where people of varying gender identities could feel comfortable.”
So keep an eye out for events and performances from these awesome groups and support CNU Acapella!
