Photo Courtesy of Payton Ferris ’23
Despite a lack of Greek Life on campus, Conn shocks new students each fall with the sudden appearance of a cappella groups. They hold an annual audition and selection process that feels like an odd combination of sorority rush season and scenes from the “Pitch Perfect” movies. At the end of September, all seven groups —Vox Cameli, Williams Street Mix, ConnArtists, Miss Connduct, ConnChords, The Shwiffs, and Coco Beaux — tabled in Cro. Each group spent hours calling out to students on their way to pick up a package from the post office or a snack from Oasis, imploring them to sign up for an audition.
Prospective members of a cappella were asked to prepare a short piece of music, and, for some groups, were asked to bring something else, such as a fun fact or a show and tell item. Following a week of auditions and callbacks, on the evening of October 9, Fight Night arrived. That evening, members of each a cappella group convened to decide who they would accept. Prospective members were asked to remain in their rooms that night, left to await either an email explaining that they had not been chosen or the surprise arrival of their new a cappella group at their door to sing them a welcome song. In previous years, Fight Night has occurred on a Saturday, giving the newly completed a cappella groups the opportunity to celebrate their new members without the threat of classes in the morning; but, as a result of Fall Ball happening on the typical Saturday, Fight Night was moved to Sunday night, leaving any subsequent celebrations to be postponed to a later date in order to occur without looming Monday morning classes.
Every Halloweekend, the seven a cappella groups on campus come together to have their first concert of the year featuring their new members. However, the Halloween Challenge Concert is more than a simple concert. Each year, the A Cappella Council votes on a theme, with each group proposing three possible themes. Some of the proposed themes for this year included Woodstock, songs about rain, 90s alternative rock, and upcoming artists. The theme of this year’s concert was songs with colors in the title. This year’s selections included Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans,” Lizzy McAlpine’s “Orange Show Speedway,” and Harry Styles’ “Golden.”
This year, the concert fell on the evening of October 30th. Attendants and performers alike packed into the 1941 Room in Cro as each a cappella group, dressed in their respective color for the challenge, anxiously awaited their turn to perform. Many audience members had to sit on the floor or stand in the crowded space at the back of the room, with far more people attending the performance than there were chairs available to seat them. Before the doors even opened, students filled the halls of Cro, eagerly lining up for the chance to see the show of the weekend. As the 1941 Room filled, nearly running out of room, a cappella members remarked that this was the largest audience seen at an a cappella concert in years.
Beginning the performance were the ConnChords, who led the concert into their gentle yet powerful harmonies. They were followed by Vox Cameli, introducing themselves with their jubilant cheer of “Vox Rocks!” Next in the lineup were the Conn Artists, performing a high energy rendition of a Lizzy McAlpine song, and Miss Conduct, with a beautiful duet. As a member of Vox, I was unfortunately unable to watch all of the performances myself, instead having to listen from the hall, but even such an incomplete experience gave me the chance to hear just how hard each group had worked to prepare for the concert. In the concert’s second half, Williams Street Mix performed, splitting up their rendition of Carrie Underwood’s “Two Black Cadillacs” amongst their five new members, giving each the chance to shine. Coco Beaux sang a cheerful arrangement of “Golden,” each member donned in glittering gold accessories, including cowboy hats, feather boas, and even a tinsel-laden wig. Finishing up the concert were the Shwiffs, bringing the evening to a close with their beautiful voices.
Despite the concert running smoothly, it was not the easiest road to get there. In the weeks prior to the performance, the concert was rescheduled multiple times due to a packed Halloweekend schedule on campus. Since a cappella concerts are typically held in the Chapel, the location for this year’s Halloween Concert was out of the ordinary, leaving the seven groups to adjust quickly to the new space. Avery White, ‘23, co-president of Vox Cameli and member of the A Cappella Council, agrees that scheduling this year was more difficult than most: “The planning process for an a cappella concert is tedious. There are seven groups and each has roughly fifteen members at the most. That’s quite a few schedules to consider when choosing a date. The Council wondered… Would students attend a concert in the middle of such a social weekend? What obligations do our singers have? What are the acoustics like where we are performing?” Despite the struggles along the way, the concert itself was a definite success. “We were pleasantly surprised to see so many smiling faces despite being in such a tiny room that is not equipped for musical performances. As a senior I can say that the senior comradery is what helped us reach our end goal. We auditioned for a cappella together almost four years ago and now work side by side to keep the singing cycle going.”
Although the rehearsal process was stressful to say the least, I can say with complete confidence that I consider my first concert experience as a member of Conn’s a cappella to have been a total success. The feeling of performing in front of such a large crowd was exhilarating, and although I have been involved in as much theater as possible since the pandemic, this truly felt like the return to live performances that I have missed so much in the past few years. Despite not getting the chance to watch each group perform their song, it was so rewarding to hear what every member of a cappella has been working on since the addition of their new members, only for such work to be met with effusive praise and a promise for more astounding performances to come.
