<p>I am a junior in high school right now and I'm debating whether I would like to study voice performance or musical theatre in college. One school I've been looking at is Lawrence University because it has a great music program, but I am not sure if that's the right place for me because I don't want to focus on classical music. I know that whichever college I choose must have many groups that I have the opportunity to perform in. I am mainly looking for colleges with great a cappella groups. If people could list the colleges that they know of that have good vocal performance and/or musical theatre programs as well as extremely good a cappella groups that would be much appreciated! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Off the top of my head that meets your criteria:
NYU
Northwestern
USC
FSU
UCLA
U of Michigan
Penn State
U of Hartford/Hartt
Syracuse </p>
<p>There are some schools that don’t have a MT or VP degree per se, but have strong theater/MT opportunities and very strong a capella such as:
Yale
Brown</p>
<p>maybe stanford. their acapella groups are good enough for me. although I bet Yale’s are better.</p>
<p>Others…
James Madison
Elon</p>
<p>Stanford isn’t that great for MT though.</p>
<p>no it’s not. well I don’t have much to compare it to but I’m pretty sure they don’t have a program and there’s only one or two big legitish musicals a year. my bad I didn’t read the entire OP’s post.</p>
<p>Ok, that helps a lot! If you have any more input or ideas please let me know! Thank you :)</p>
<p>As mentioned, Northwestern seems to have A LOT of great acappella groups… for example check out Purple Haze (and others) on YouTube.</p>
<p>UCLA has a number as well. Check out the website for AWAKEN. The lead singer of the group that came in third in this year’s Sing-Off is a member. They have YouTubes as well. If you are a guy, there is Bruin Harmony. They recently appeared as the “Harvard Glee Club” in the film, The Social Network.</p>
<p>I just saw this year’s list of groups selected for BOCA, which might indicate some schools with great A Cappella groups. I notice NU is well represented with 3 groups selected this year; </p>
<p>BOCA 2011: Best Of College A Cappella</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Sing A Song - University of Oregon On The Rocks
opb Earth Wind and Fire</p></li>
<li><p>Fireflies - University of Rochester Midnight Ramblers
opb Owl City</p></li>
<li><p>Before The Worst - Northwestern University Undertones
opb The Script</p></li>
<li><p>First Train Home - Boston College Bostonians
opb Imogen Heap</p></li>
<li><p>No Substitute Love - Brown University Chattertocks
opb Estelle</p></li>
<li><p>Lost Without U - Cornell University Last Call
opb Robin Thicke</p></li>
<li><p>Telephone - University of Virginia Sil’hooettes
opb Lady Gaga</p></li>
<li><p>I’d Like To - University of Chicago Voices In Your Head
opb Corinne Bailey Rae</p></li>
<li><p>Hit 'Em Up Style - James Madison University Low Key
opb Blu Cantrell</p></li>
<li><p>Tainted Love - Elon University Sweet Signatures
opb Pussycat Dolls</p></li>
<li><p>Open Your Eyes - North Carolina State University Acappology
opb Snow Patrol</p></li>
<li><p>Awake - Northwestern University Freshman Fifteen
opb Josh Groban</p></li>
<li><p>Black and Gold - Duke University Pitchforks
opb Sam Sparro</p></li>
<li><p>Hot Air Balloon - The Chorallaries of MIT
opb Owl City</p></li>
<li><p>What A Good Boy - The Duke’s Men of Yale University
opb Barenaked Ladies</p></li>
<li><p>High and Dry - New York University N’Harmonics
opb Radiohead</p></li>
<li><p>Backseat - Brigham Young University Noteworthy
opb Noteworthy</p></li>
<li><p>Coming Home - Northwestern University Purple Haze
opb John Legend</p></li>
</ol>
<p>[Latest</a> Varsity Vocals News | Varsity Vocals | VarsityVocals.com](<a href=“http://www.varsityvocals.com/news.html#BOCA%20and%20BOHSA%202011%20now%20available]Latest”>http://www.varsityvocals.com/news.html#BOCA%20and%20BOHSA%202011%20now%20available)</p>
<p>ok thanks so much for your guys’ help; I really appreciate it! I’ll look into the schools that have those groups and see if I like any of them. thanks again!</p>
<p>The names of these groups are great! I particularly like the MIT Chorallaries!</p>
<p>SDonCC, I was thinking the same thing. I thought the Duke (Blue Devils) PITCHforks was quite clever.</p>
<p>I love the names too… have a soft spot for The Freshman 15. ;-D </p>
<p>I wonder how many of these groups were named a long time ago and have a rich history? I also wonder how many of them are completely student run?</p>
<p>A couple of things…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the OP was asking about colleges with MT that had strong a capella. Not all of the BOCA schools have MT. Some do. </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that BOCA involves selection of college a capella recordings, not live a capella competitions (though many groups do well in that too). So, if one is truly interested in the best college a capella groups, then they should examine results of ICCA competitions in the past few years. You also may wish to look at the Contemporary A Capella Recording Awards’ collegiate divisions…this year’s nominees and recent years’ winners.</p>
<p>I am very familiar with all of the above, as my daughter and her college a capella group have been involved in the ICCA competitions, as well as have won those and been on BOCA and won the Contemporary A Capella recording awards too, including current nominations. </p>
<p>MomCares, almost all of these college a capella groups are completely student run, including their musical directors, arrangers, etc. My D was heavily involved in this throughout college (was musical director and wrote arrangements for her group too) and continues to be nominated post college and I have seen many highly talented groups from other colleges as well. This was a very significant part of my D’s college experience and I recommend it to any singers here who enjoy contemporary music (it is not MT repertoire). Many in my D’s a capella group have gone onto Broadway and such.</p>
<p>There are lots of samples on YouTube of college a capella too.</p>
<p>Thanks for the added info, soozievt!!</p>
<p>I know very little about college a cappella, though a friend of D’s was in the Whiffenpoofs of Yale and he absolutely loved it!!</p>
<p>I suspect it is something our D will love if she gets a chance to be a part of it, so my fingers are already crossed for her auditions next September (aren’t I pathetic – I know this hasn’t even begun to be on D’s radar yet)! ;-D</p>
<p>MomCares, NU has some excellent a capella groups. It might be on your D’s radar if she listens to them. The year before my D went to college, her sister was a freshman at Brown (which has a lot of excellent groups) and we saw these groups on a parent weekend there and my younger D (the one who went into MT) was hooked and knew she wanted to do this when she got to college. At the orientation for freshmen at her own college, the a capella groups perform and she was dying to get in from that first day and was very lucky to get in during her freshman year and it became a huge part of her college career. She is very close to her fellow a capella group members and involved with many even now in a professional capacity (she is now out of college). The current musical my D is in has two former members of her group (besides herself) in it, as well as a former member of Northwestern’s Purple Haze (two of these have been on Broadway in fact). A capella is contemporary, not MT, but if your D is into that type of music (mine very much is), then she should check out the groups at NU.</p>
<p>I will also add that belonging to an a capella group is like a little “club” or small subset of peers/friends at college that become very closely bonded and that is a fun thing to have while in college.</p>
<p>Yes, it sounds great to me on all the levels you’ve mentioned and yes, D enjoys lots of contemporary music. She won Disney’s American Idol Experience so she must have some contemporary chops (hahaha)! D has spent 3 years in her school’s small vocal jazz ensemble, so she knows she loves having a small group of singing peers in school.</p>
<p>I am definitely 6 months ahead of D in thinking about college stuff. She’s totally immersed in rehearsals for her latest show, lessons, and school (4 AP classes this year). My life isn’t as full as hers just now, plus I’m an adult (at least some days), so I’m more prone to planning ahead than she is. ;-D</p>
<p>A different perspective on a cappella groups… D is a junior and is in an a cappella group for the first year. At her university, it is a student directed, auditioned, extra curricular activity not sponsored by the music department. They do lots of small gigs, social events and tours/trips. Some years they have recorded CDs and been part of competitions. There have been quite a few activities D has had to miss due to rehearsals, shows and musical theatre activities/commitments. For example: she will miss her group’s tour because she is auditioning for summer work at SETC next weekend. The group chooses rehearsal times that match everyone’s schedule (or tries). Last semester it was 10:30-11:30 at night two weeknights. My daughter was cautioned by an ENT she saw last semester about using good vocal health and the strain on one’s voice sometimes required in a cappella. Participation in an a cappella group is a very time consuming activity for an already very busy MT student, especially if they are cast in shows. It will be a balancing act!</p>
<p>Yes, the schedule to be in an a capella group while being in a BFA program is INTENSE. My D’s group rehearsed on a weeknight later at night (so often one would go to a MT show rehearsal and then a capella rehearsal) and then on Sunday nights too (the only day that musicals tend not to rehearse). If one is the musical director, as my D was, there are hours also writing arrangements. There are often schedule conflicts, such as one time my D missed the Semi Finals in competition due to being in a show. Another year, when my D’s group was in Semi Finals, it conflicted with her StrawHats audition and she was dedicated to her group and could not let them down and StrawHats was willing to change her audition day at the last minute and put her on another day which meant my D’s StrawHat audition was compromised as her headshot and resume was in the “book” that auditors get for the wrong day and so she was seen without that stuff in front of auditors and announced by one of the StrawHats people (that was the only year she chose to participate but she did eventually get cast). </p>
<p>That said, the experiences were amazing with many campus performances, performances out of town, at other colleges, Joe’s Pub, The Beacon Theater, CBGB’s, and the competitions (the highlight of which, in her case, was being in the International Finals at LINCOLN CENTER!). The awards, the concerts, the album recordings, the talent of the others in the group, the very strong unending bonds, the sleepover bonding nights, and much more were a huge piece of the college experience for my D. (as an aside, our family enjoyed going to all the competitions!)</p>
<p>But there is no doubt about it that the life of a MT student who is doing all the training and musical productions to also fit in the huge commitment to a capella is very intense. By the same token, it is another performance opportunity on top of being in theater productions. This also meant that as a freshmen at a school that doesn’t allow freshmen to be cast in shows, my D was performing lots that year with her a capella group. If you really love music, a capella can be an amazing experience and a chance to branch out from just MT repertoire.</p>