With finals and end-of-semester projects fast approaching, students are in need of a proper holiday send-off. The four A cappella groups on campus have prepared just that.
Student-led groups Amplified, CatCall A cappella, Dolce Voces and Noteriety host two major performances each year to showcase their talents to the student body. This semester’s performance is called the Fall-iday Concert, which is scheduled for today, and will feature a of wide variety of songs from each group.
“This is one of our bigger times to shine,” said Keith Collett, second-year law student and CatCall A cappella president. “This is our longest set, so it’s really fun to display all of the things we’ve worked hard on and all of the things we’ve spent time perfecting. This time of year when the semester is winding down is an exciting time for everybody.”
CatCall A cappella, an all-male group, was founded in 2008 and has performed all over campus, serenading sororities, performing in the Student Union Memorial Center and hosting various concerts. Since its founding, it has been recognized at the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella West Quarterfinal and has released two albums: Scratch Tracks in 2009 and Nine Lives in 2012. The group has prepared six songs for Friday’s event including “New Divide” by Linkin Park, “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts and a jazz version of “Bear Down.”
“It shows what students here at the university can do,” said Thomas Alcaraz, a music education junior and CatCall A cappella member. “All of the A cappella groups are student-run, so it shows what they can do without any higher help. It represents the university well, and it represents music well here on campus.”
Amplified, the newest addition to campus A cappella groups, was founded in 2012 as a diverse co-ed performance group. It has participated in several solo concerts, as well as with other A cappella clubs. At the Fall-iday Concert, it will be performing “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic, “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine, “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons and “Royals” by Lorde, said Amplified president and physiology junior Marissa Lovett.
“It’ll be really fun singing with the other A cappella groups,” Lovett said. “We get to see them perform around campus, but we don’t get do a lot of events … with all four groups, so it’s pretty fun to get together and see where we’ve gotten.”
Performing with CatCall A cappella and Amplified are groups Dolce Voces and Noteriety. Dolce Voces is an all-female group while Noteriety is a 19-person, co-ed A cappella ensemble.
In March, all four groups will attend the prestigious ICCA West Quarterfinal competition at the Tempe Center of the Arts. They will be competing against groups from all over Arizona.
As for today’s event, Lovett said Fall-iday is a perfect, one-stop chance to see what the groups have been working on.
”All of the groups are very unique,” Lovett said, “and it’s the only time in the semester that will showcase all four A cappella groups at one event.”
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