Despite the recent flooding of Harkness Chapel, all seven Conn acapella groups performed their end-of-the-semester spring concerts over the last two weekends, showcasing over 25 songs and graduating 15+ seniors. In addition to the flooding, a high number of acapella seniors are also music majors, and therefore had to prepare for both senior concerts and acapella shows. Yet, in the face of these challenges, each group’s concert brought auditoriums full of Camels together for a celebration of hard work and music.
On April 18th, the Office of Marketing and Communications announced in an email to all students that the basement of Harkness Chapel would be closed until further notice due to flooding caused by “continued misuse of the building’s toilet facilities.” Unfortunately, many of the acapella groups rehearse in the chapel basement and had to scramble to find new practice and performance spaces only a week before the concerts. Despite this challenge, all of the groups were able to find new locations and chose entertaining themes for the relocated spring concerts. Vox Cameli presented “Vox Candylandeli,” dressed in costume as various Candyland characters. Co Co Beaux chose a Western theme, performing their concert “Wanted Dead or Alive” at Fortune Hall. The ConnArtists performed “The Conn Artist’s Birthday Concert ” on April 27 in Harkness Chapel.
In addition to the chapel basement flooding, many acapella groups had to prepare for their concerts with the added stress of some members preparing for senior recitals. Lucie Bernheim ‘24, Brielle Blood ‘24, Juliette Chait ‘24, Callista Crisonino ‘24, Miranda Ma ‘24, and Kate Rubel ‘24 were seniors performing in both an acapella performance and a senior concert, some of which were on the same day. For Ma, (ConnChords), “This rarely happens with ConnChords, but it just so happens that this year all the music seniors are music majors, so we all have our own shows on top of the acapella. That was hard to balance for me personally and for the group to deal with. But it was still a really fun process and sentimental for it being my last semester. I had a great time preparing, and I love challenging myself rhythmically. It helped me become a better musician.”
While the start of their acapella journey may have been rocky, the seniors ended this semester strong with the spring concerts. Many groups had their seniors pick a special song for the group to learn and perform, such as “Video Games” by Lana Del Ray, picked by Adina Smith ‘27 for the Vox Cameli concert. ConnChords seniors (Chait, Crisonino, Ma, and Rubel) surprised their fellow Chords, and the audience, by singing an extra senior song (“Slipping Through My Fingers” by ABBA). Olivia Penna ‘27 described the ConnChords seniors as a reflection of this surprise song, saying that “we’re [the underclassman] not slipping through their fingers, they are slipping through ours. I wasn’t expecting to get emotional but I’m very close with all of the seniors. Just over the course of this entire year, we’ve spent a lot of time together, so it was very sweet and emotional to hear them sing.”
The success of the spring concerts is accompanied with a bittersweet ending for the seniors, especially since their first semester of acapella was heavily impacted by COVID. Ma recalls the beginning of her acapella journey as one contingent on COVID, causing her to not “audition until the spring semester, because nothing was open. Most of the seniors now had to go through the audition process differently. We went to Evans Hall, stood on the stage in front of all the acapella groups, auditioning for them all at once.” Alex Jutt ‘25 (Williams Street Mix) remembers that due to COVID restrictions, his “auditions, in the spring of 2021, [were] actually some of the first regular in-person interaction [he] got in college.”
With over 15 graduating members, each group took time to reflect on their seniors during the concerts. Charlotte Steinhauer ‘27 (Vox Cameli) says her favorite moment from the Vox spring concert was the senior speeches, saying “There were people in the audience that were crying, and it was a really sad moment but a really good moment because they worked so hard and we’re gonna miss them a lot.” Jutt recalls auditioning with Williams Street Mix’s Immy Bohen, saying “It’s really sad seeing someone that you go way back with leaving. With the acapella groups too, you get so used to someone being part of the sound. Losing [Bohen and senior Molly Reid] is a real loss.”
In addition to senior songs, the concerts allowed new acapella members to perform some of their first solos. Kelli Woodworth ‘27, who joined ConnChords this semester, performed her first solo, singing Lizzy McAlpine’s “All My Ghosts.” To prepare for her first solo performance, Woodworth stated she “sang a lot and practiced it a lot. Then, I would workshop it based on how we sounded as a group until I sounded the way I wanted to sound. I really know the artist and the song very well because I’m a big Lizzy fan. I basically knew all the words already, which definitely helped me, and I knew how she sings, so it was kind of easy to get into practice mode.”
After the success of this year’s spring concerts, the future is bright for Conn Acapella. With the absence of so many seniors, many of the groups are anticipating a change in leadership next semester. Penna, from ConnChords,will be taking over as president; the group will also see the return of member Hallie Farr ‘25, who is currently abroad. Steinhauer and Lily McGee ‘27 will be taking over as co-social media managers for Vox Cameli. A full audition season is expected early next fall semester to shape the future of Conn acapella.
