<p>Just an fyi re. taking on a cappella. These groups are great fun, and both my niece and nephew participated all four years during college. However, neither were music, mt, or acting majors. They did the sensible thing.:)…lol.</p>
<p>I have heard from various sources that singing a cappella can be quite hard on the voice, especially when learning to belt or develop a good solid technique that will last for, hopefully, 8 shows a week for many years to come. My kid was participating in two a cappella groups in high school, but quit one of them because they did a lot of very soft, unsupported singing. It was vocally tiring and time-intensive. Just something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>MomCares, my daughter and others always ran into schedule conflicts with a capella (which was a huge commitment) and other shows and also with ICCA competitions. Once she did have to miss the Semi Finals even as music director and arranger (she even won Best Arrangement that time and was absent) because she was in a show. However, one must prioritize when conflicts arise. Yes her mainstage musical came before a capella (she was a lead). BUT when her a capella group got into the International Finals, she was dedicated to that and missed other things for it. Also in freshman year, the competition conflicted with Straw Hats (the only summer she even auditioned for summer stock) and she was dedicated to her group and contacted Straw Hats when her group got into Semi Finals and Straw Hats gave her a different audition day but my D did have to compromise that her resume and headshot were in the Straw Hat audition book for a day that was not her audition day, a drawback as she had to audition without the theater companies having her information in front of them but she would not give up on her a capella group due to her commitment to them both as a performer and musical director/arranger. Her group had a lot of BFA students in it (but not everyone was in a BFA). They won numerous competitions, awards as a group and she did individually as arranger many times, and their album and she herself won many recording awards too. So, I don’t think it is that different at Northwestern. Kids have to decide what to commit to and what to do when conflicts arise. Even out of college, my kid runs into such conflicts often! And she is in an going group now (not a capella) that performs weekly in NYC and at times she has to miss if she is in a show or something of that sort, but otherwise is quite committed. But this is sorta a given for performers who can’t give up being in shows totally as that is their career.</p>
<p>This year over half of the two top NU groups were in a mainstage musical during the regional ICCA competition. D’s group only had one person in two sections! ;-D Hopefully next year the schedules will work out better.</p>
<p>That said, D’s a cappella group instantly became her NU family (including lots of extended family from alum of the group) and she could not be happier to be involved with them.</p>
<p>I wish I had a mom’s a cappella group, as it looks like SO much fun!!</p>
<p>A capella group was also a family for my kid all four years of college. Very strong ties were built. My kid is almost three years out of college and STILL performs regularly with alum from her college a capella group. In fact, as I type this, she is about to perform her own concert tonight in NYC and a former member of her a capella group will be one of the back up singers, among some Broadway peeps. Several of her a capella peers have also been on Broadway. These young adults still perform and collaborate often with one another. It was a big part of my D’s college experience in fact.</p>
<p>She also has some pals who used to be in Northwestern’s a capella groups and she performs with them from time to time as well.</p>
<p>Here’s a listing from the Collegiate A Cappella Directory of Northwestern’s groups - though I think someone told me this list is out of date.</p>
<p>Asterik
Aural Fixation
Brown Sugar
Catatonics
Extreme Measures
Five Minutes of Fame
Freshmen 15
Harmony in Spirit
Klein Four Group
Melisma
Purple Haze
ShireiNU
Significant Others
Thunk
Treblemakers
Undertones
X-Factors </p>
<p>Although there are a lot of groups on campus, I think at the start of this year there were only 15 open slots so competition to get in is quite stiff. I assume that’s true on all campuses - and ESPECIALLY at schools with strong MT programs.</p>
<p>Here are some a cappella programs mentioned in this thread so far;</p>
<p>General Competitions - post #10, 15 </p>
<p>Fredonia - post #33
Muhlenberg - post #37
NYU - post # 17, 20, 42, 44
Northwestern University (NU) - post # 8, 17, 43, 44, 45
Penn State - post #34
UCLA - #9
Yeshiva University - post #29</p>
<p>I was reminded tonight how HAPPY D is to have become involved with a cappella in college. Her a cappella group is truly like her family, and they have SO much fun working, playing and creating together.</p>
<p>I hope those who will be attending schools with strong a cappella programs will seriously consider getting involved as early as possible next year as it is a fantastic way to get acquainted with your new school, not to mention helping the new school get acquainted with you!</p>
<p>For those interested in college A Cappella, a new film by Universal called “Pitch Perfect” opens soon. The film is about collegiate a cappella and was directed by Northwestern grad Jason Moore. </p>
<p>I haven’t seen it, but D’s A Cappella group is singing at an early pre-screen in Chicago in a couple of weeks. </p>
<p>Funny, but I recall some event in NYC where the bookwriters for this held some sort of event for producers for the film or something like that and my daughter’s then a capella group performed at that function. </p>
<p>Just went to the site you linked to. I see Anna Kendrick is in this and she’s great. When I opened the site, a photo of an actor in the film was immediately recognizable as my D’s long time friend and cast mate (from theater camp and college), Skylar, is in it, but I did not know that until I saw him on my screen.</p>
<p>By the way, Mickey Rapkin, who wrote the book about a capella, Pitch Perfect, also wrote Theater Geeks, the book about the theater camp my kid attended, Stagedoor Manor.</p>
<p>@soozievt – isn’t it endlessly amazing what a small theatre world it is! ;-D</p>
<p>I really like some of the actors involved, and though the film’s previews don’t especially grab me (no doubt middle-aged moms aren’t the target audience) I’ll probably see it anyways as I’m a sucker for a cappella music.</p>
<p>My S is in two a cappella groups at his high school, and his co-ed group all went to see Pitch Perfect together tonight! Which is the great thing about a cappella - it really is like a family. Anyway, he said it was a lot of fun, and it inspired his group to work hard this year.</p>
<p>I saw Pitch Perfect last Monday. It’s 112 minutes of silly fun. Predictable of course but very fun for those of us that enjoy a cappella. The vocals of course were great but it was the choreography that was the most fun to my completely amateur eyes. Go see it.</p>
<p>Terrific! Sounds like a great escape, and I don’t mind the occasional predictable-but-fun movie… especially one that’s not about sports… and includes singing and dancing.</p>
<p>We finally saw Pitch Perfect tonight in a packed theatre and it seemed that everyone there, including us, had fun! I thought the cast was great, the music and choreography were fun and the comedy had some Christopher Guest overtones that I hadn’t expected. No one seemed to mind at all that the plot is predictable.</p>
<p>All told it was a pleasant surprise, so thanks to all who recommended it!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the kids participating in ICCAs this year!</p>
<p>Once again the regional competition fell on a night when there were two significant campus productions, so D’s a cappella group was again missing many of their older members. It’s too bad the the ICCAs can’t be held on weeknights when more MT kids could participate, but it’s still great that so many kids are able to be a part of these amazing groups.</p>
<p>With travel involved in heading to the quarterfinals (never mind semi’s and finals), that would probably knock even more people out of participating. But they sure do have fun no matter how they place!</p>
<p>I just had a chance to listen to this years’ Voices Only compilation album. As I understand it, over 150 schools submitted a total of more than 2000 tracks for consideration, so the albums feature many very strong performances and are well worth a listen. </p>
<p>Volume 1
City of Delusion, Bathtub Dogs (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Paris (Ooh La La), The Amalgamates (Tufts University)
<p>It was briefly mentioned earlier, but I just have to say that James Madison University has AMAZING a capella groups. Currently the school has 7 groups:</p>
<p>Low Key: Co-ed
The Overtones: Co-ed
The Madison Project: All male
Exit 245: All male
Into Hymn: All female
The Bluestones: All female
Noteoriety: All female</p>
<p>As posted by MomCares, several of these groups have been featured on Voices Only. Keep in mind this is only one year and these groups have been featured for many years in the past too.</p>
<p>Most of these groups also participate in ICCA and other traveling competitions in addition to releasing albums. Anyone considering JMU should definitely consider doing a capella there or at least check out these amazing groups!</p>
<p>I happen to have a friend in one of the groups so that’s why I like this program so much.</p>
</p>