<p>CASA (Contemporary A Cappella Society) just announced their latest Sing compilation album, Sing 10: Neon. </p>
<p>"… the Sing series has developed into a yearly collection of some of the world’s finest and most diverse vocal music. In addition to collegiate and professional groups from the United States, the albums feature talent from high schools across the country and acclaimed international professional ensembles… The team had a herculean task of listening to thousands of tracks to whittle down to a finalist list of about 50-60 songs."</p>
<p>The Tracks:</p>
<pre><code>The Boxettes, “Puppet on a String”
</code></pre>
<p> The Chordials (Cornell), “Bizness”
The Funx, “Save it for Another Day”
MO5AIC, “Superstar”
Musae, “Evacuate the Dancefloor”
Street Corner Symphony, “Voodoo”
The Octāves (Richmond), “Oh Oh Oh My My My”
The Northwestern Undertones (Northwestern), “Plain Gold Ring”
The Amalgamates (Tufts), “Undisclosed Desires”
Note-oriety (James Madison), “DNA”
Out of the Blue (Yale), “I’d Do It All Again”
Nor’easters (Northeastern), “Mama Knows Best”
MICappella, “Here We Go” (club mix)
Postyr Project, “Go! Don’t Stop!”
ARORA, “The Bridge”
The Swingle Singers, “Gemiler Giresune”
GQ, “Timshel (feat. XIV Hours)”
Redline, “Sleep”
Club for Five, “Kun Joulu On” (radio edit)
The Pitchforks (Duke), “Refraction”
Eleventh Hour (Kettering Fairmont High School), “Paris (Ooh la la)”
Blue Jupiter, “Defying Gravity”
Exit 245 (James Madison), “Cinema”
Men in Drag (U Chicago), “Coming Undone”</p>
<p>CASA just released the 2014 CARA nominations. Here’s a sampling of the Collegiate nominees…</p>
<p>Best Mixed Collegiate Album
Odd Man In by Amalgamates (Tufts)<br>
Midnight Hour by Harmonics (Stanford)<br>
Good Life by Pitch Slapped (Berklee)<br>
Permit to Harmonize by SoCal Vocals (USC)<br>
Rock Paper Shotgun by Undertones (Northwestern)<br>
Equilibrium by Nor’Easters (Northeastern)</p>
<p>Best Mixed Collegiate Song
Sweet Nothing on Equilibrium by Nor’Easters (Northeastern)
We Can Work It Out on Good Life by Pitch Slapped (Berklee)<br>
Somebody to Love on Midnight Hour by Harmonics (Stanford)<br>
Gunpowder & Lead on Rock Paper Shotgun by Undertones (Northwestern)<br>
Tightrope on Permit to Harmonize by SoCal Vocals (USC)<br>
Paris (Ooh La La) on Odd Man In by Amalgamates (Tufts)
Spectrum on UNDECLARED by Mixed Company (Stanford)</p>
<p>Best Mixed Collegiate Solo
Wrong Side of a Love Song on Equilibrium by Nor’Easters (Northeastern)
Plain Gold Ring on Rock Paper Shotgun by Undertones (Northwestern)<br>
Love On Top on Good Life by Pitch Slapped (Berklee)<br>
Paris (Ooh La La) on Odd Man In by Amalgamates (Tufts)<br>
Mercy On Me on On The Edge by Opportunes (Harvard)<br>
Tightrope on Permit to Harmonize by SoCal Vocals (USC)</p>
As D finishes college I’m reminded what a central role her a cappella group has played in the experience. They have worked, played, toured, eaten, slept, lived and made incredible music together as closely as any family over the years, and I am so thrilled that she’s had them in her life. And if their CDs had grooves, mine would be worn through by now.
For those who are starting college next year, do consider auditionng for a group if possible. I thought it sounded insane on top of allready crazy schedules (tri-weekly rehearsals from 10pm-midnight) but the amazing shared experiences made it all worthwhile.
MomCares…I would echo what you wrote in post 64. For my D, like yours, being in her a cappella group all four years of college was one of her most significant experiences. Like your D, a side aspect was how successful the group was in collegiate competitions (yay for your D’s group’s latest!) and for winning individual awards (yay again for your D!). But beyond all she gained from the a cappella experience, the group became a very bonded experience and most of her closest pals to this day were once in this group. I am sure your D would say something similar. Now that my D is almost 6 years out, I will add that she continues to perform with her college a cappella peers professionally. Sometimes they are cast in the same productions. She also casts them in her original musicals. She sings back up at their concert gigs in NYC and they sing back up at her concert gigs. Besides the friendship bond, the professional networking with these a cappella kids has been quite significant in her professional life. I must say that soooo many of the young men and women in her a cappella group have gone onto success in musical theater and music, including Broadway and such. So, I also would say that any of these MT kids heading off to college, look into college a cappella…also it is another opportunity to perform.
I’m glad you mentioned the professional benefits of having an intensive a cappella background! After the callbacks for D’s first professional show while in college she commented that it was really obvious which people had a cappella experience, as they pulled out some new and complex multi-part music to sightread in small groups in the final stage of the audition. I think virtually everyone who was ultimately cast had done college a cappella.
That’s a good point too, MomCares (post 67) ! I really think my D LEARNED a lot in a cappella. She was the musical director and wrote many of their arrangements. She has since used this skill in her professional life. She has a big solo concert coming up and has 9 back up singers (many of whom were in a cappella in college) and she writes all the harmonies and such. I’m pretty sure she learned most of that in her time in college a cappella.