<p>I went to this dartmouth direct program and heard this AMAZING A Capella group (I’d never heard A Capella before) and got hooked on A Capella. So I’m wondering how the A Capella groups are at this school. Can anyone offer some picture of the “A Capella scene”?</p>
<p>There are several Dartmouth groups that have performed with Brown groups often, most notably the Aires and the Cords. They are both awesome; was one of those the group you heard? Anyway, as far as a cappella at Brown goes, there is quite a vibrant and large community. Brown has twelve student-run a cappella groups of all different kinds--men's, women's, co-ed, classical, jazz, pop, you name it. The groups get along well and often perform together. For example, in December, the groups have an annual holiday charity organ/a cappella concert at midnight in Sayles Hall during reading period where every group sings and a student organist plays. Hundreds of students and community members come to listen, and it's a great time. All the concerts are a lot of fun, and most groups perform both on and off campus throughout the year. Every group has auditions every semester; and with so many groups, lots of people have the opportunity to join. Most concerts are well-attended, especially considering what a relatively small campus population we are and how very many a cappella shows we have.</p>
<p>Let's see: Women's groups are the Brown'sTones, the Chattertocks, and the Ursa Minors; Men's groups are the Bear Necessities, the Brown Derbies, and the Jabberwocks; mixed groups are Harmonic Motion, the Higher Keys, With One Voice (Christian a cappella), Shades of Brown (influenced by African/Afro-American roots: R&B, gospel, soul, and more), ARRR! (Brown's well-loved pirate group, singing largely sea shanties), and the Madrigal Singers (Brown's only student-run classical group). The groups I didn't give a description of each have a unique repertoire and style all their own, but they are not niche groups, so it's harder to explain. The Higher Keys plug themselves as half-pop and half-jazz; the Brown'sTones often do more folk style music than the other women's groups, but don't describe themselves as such. Looking on the groups' websites would probably give you a better idea of the kind of stuff they do. You can find each of the groups' sites listed at <a href="http://www.brown.edu/web/gab3/%5B/url%5D">http://www.brown.edu/web/gab3/</a></p>
<p>Many groups also record their own albums. I know of at least three groups (the Derbies, Ursa Minors, and Harmonic Motion) who released new albums this year, in fact, and another handful, those two included as well as the Wocks, Bear Necessities, Chattertocks, and probably others, who are currently in the process of recording new stuff. It's a great opportunity to be in the studio. Also, I should mention that Brown is not a school (like some others) where those who are in a cappella groups ONLY do that. In fact, it seems like nearly all of the students in these groups are involved heavily in at least one or two other things on campus, be it theater, dance, student government, or something else. I don't really understand how they make time, but it's very common. Also, there is generally very little animosity between the groups; of course there's a bit of a competitive spirit at times, but no one gets wrapped up in comparisons and such. Each group has its fans, and most are happy that way, and happy to support the other groups when they can. Kind of reflective of the overall spirit at Brown--just striving to be your personal best and helping others do the same, not knocking them down. Corny but true.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>I started a thread kinda on this topic a while back:</p>
<p>There's some info, but it's mostly at the beginning and end....Byerly kind of swooped in at the middle and hijacked the thread.</p>
<p>I can offer information about the Jabberwocks at the least, but I have a pretty good handle on most of the groups if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything specific about the men's and coed groups? More info about the Jabberwocks would be nice... also, what distinguishes the various all-male groups from each other? Do certain ones attract different groups of people or sing different music?</p>
<p>Also, is it possible to do a capella AND chorus? Or do they conflict too much in terms of time?</p>
<p>2 guys in the wocks tried it...They both quit though, because we were rehearsing 7 hours a week, and then they had another 6 hours a week on top from chorus. I'm very biased, but the Derbies generally sing just rock songs, while the Wocks and the Bears are a little more diverse, but we're the only ones who sing r&b as far as I can remember.</p>
<p>As far as a little information on the wocks, we're the oldest group on campus, having started in 1949, and we have a strong alumni association. We're also the only group on campus that has a private rehearsal space (in the basement of North Wayland). We have pretty frequent gigs, although more of them seem to be off-campus than on, and we've got some pretty ambitious tour plans for this coming year.</p>
<p>To give you an idea of what we actually sing, our repertoire includes
Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
The Beatles - You Never Give Me Your Money
Shai - If I Ever
Prince - Seven
Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (from the Kill Bill soundtrack)
Usher - Confessions Pt. 2</p>