"We're always looking to lose ourselves in a good time and taking the audience along for the ride," Friar Jeffrey Hogg said. Group members hail from different academic backgrounds, from archaeology to engineering, and almost always do not seek professional musical careers after graduation. But they all say they are drawn to a cappella because it offers a new way of enjoying familiar, instrumented songs.
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| ANDI MAIO/Daily Formed in 1995, the Gentlemen are one of many popular a cappella singing groups on campus. |
"People feel intrigued with what is able to be done with the human voice. And a chorus of human voices used to emulate the instrumentalists behind the soloist, I think, brings more focus to the corroboration of a group as a whole ... that each member has an important and crucial role to the sound of the group," said 58 Greene member Amit Pandya. Campus a cappella groups seize the essence of a cappella and combine it with buoyant, colorful and at times irreverent spirit to produce charismatic live performances.
Similar to the Friars, two other a cappella ensembles owe their origins to University choirs. The vocal ensemble Gimble was born last year when members of the University Arts Chorale decided to form the group as a smaller off-shoot. By early this year, Gimble had split entirely from Arts Chorale and moved on to perform its first full-length concert - a show that featured the visiting a cappella group, the Dicks and Janes, last month.
For many a cappella groups, the emphasis is on amusement. Any tune of interest to the members is fair game, and Gimble's broad repertoire spans from gospel renditions to the Pink Panther Theme. The group takes its name from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" and hopes to capture the effervescence of his poetry: "'Twas brilling, and the slythy toves/Did gyre and gymble in the wabe/All mimsy were the borogoves/And the mome raths outgrabe." On Feb. 19 and 20 Gimble plans to sing for IMPACT, a dance show that will be held at the Mendlessohn Theater.
The only all-female a cappella organization at the University, the Harmonettes derive from the Women's Glee Club. "We all share a talent and a love of music and performance," Group Member Katie McLaughlin said. "And we definitely all are flexible. If we weren't, I think it'd be a lot harder to gel than it has been. From the first time we all sang together this year, we've just really been able to blend." The ensemble, which contains a few aspiring songwriters, arranges its own music and sings a mix of modern and old songs. This semester, it presents a mix of chiefly sad music, "but that wasn't on purpose," McLaughlin said.
The Harmonettes helped to establish another campus a cappella group, their male counterpart, the Gentlemen. In 1995, then-Engineering first-year student Will Friedman formed the all-male Gentlemen to nurture a vision of "strong sound, energetic performance and musical brotherhood" through joint gigs with the Harmonettes and the Headnotes - an a cappella organization from the University Law School. The Gentlemen feature popular music from the '80s and '90s, from country to R&B.
"As a group, I think we are inspired by our love for music and singing and the need to entertain people and bring joy to those who want it," said Gentleman Corey Slutsky. The Gentlemen's new CD, "The Power of 100 Raging Buffaloes," is out now and another is in the works.
Kol Hakavod began five years ago at Hillel where several Jewish Students decided to form a singing group. Synchronously Hebrew for "Voice of the humor," Kol HaKavod specializes in "Jewish" music Yiddish or Hebrew translations of American songs, Israeli rock and folk and compositions based on the Bible, Jewish tradition and liturgy. "We're a really diverse group," said Kol HaKavod Musical Director Lili Kalish. "Especially considering that we share the religion. We come from all corners of the University, with members from almost every undergraduate college. We also hail from all different parts of the United States. There's never a dull moment at rehearsal."
Members exhibit a passion for musical spirituality and never perform or rehearse on the Jewish Sabbath or holidays. Despite its singularity, Kol HaKavod has close ties to the rest of the a cappella community. One member is also part of the Gentlemen, and the group recently trounced 58 Greene in a furious match of whirlyball. In addition to its winter concert on Dec. 5 at Hillel and a performance at the Encompass show at the Michigan Theater on Jan. 16, 1999, Kol HaKavod will team up with Gimble at a Michigan League Underground recital on Feb. 4, 1999. A third CD, succeeding "Shir Michigas" and "Don't Look Back," is currently in works and should be completed by spring.
58 Greene also celebrates its cultural roots via a cappella. Contrived by a group of friends from the Filipino American Student Association who used the 58 Greene East Quad practice room to perfect their harmonies, the organization has expanded across cultures and musical genre. Four former members have gone on to form a Boyz II Men-type group called Natural Vibe. The ensemble arranges an eclectic playlist - Doris Day to Culture Club - and includes, of all things, skits and dance mixes with names like "Electric Boogaloo" and "Sexual Anthology."
"For the most part, we don't sing to please audience or make money," said Pandya. "We sing to satiate that urge that each of us has to express ourselves ... and we love to share that excitement we feel towards our music with our audiences." 58 Greene just completed its fall concert and is going into the studio to record the follow-up to 1997's "Greenie Sexy Cool" CD.
One of the more established a cappella ensembles at the University, Amazin' Blue was one of six groups to perform at Carnegie Hall this spring for final round of the National Championship of College A Cappella. Jim Daly won Best Soloist for his "Time After Time," which can be found on Amazin' Blue's newest CD, "Allnighter." An alum of the group, Lyell Haynes, went on to join Blind Man's Bluff, a professional a cappella company in Chicago. Lately, the "How Amazin' Blue Got its Groove Back" concert wowed listeners.
Although particular nuances distinguish one a cappella organization from another, all have at least two things in common: weekly rehearsals and an infatuation for human kinship and expression through voice. "I think the social and musical reinforce each other," 58 Greene Music Director Dave Fessler said. "If you know and love every person in the group, you can be totally comfortable and confident being on stage with them. You're suddenly a unit of 14 people, rather than 14 individuals who happen to be singing together."
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| ANDI MAIO/Daily Kol HaKavod entertained the University community in a concert on the Diag last night. Kol HaKavod, an a cappella group made up of Jewish University students, specializes in "Jewish" music. |
12-03-98
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