The Buffoons are a top-notch all-male group out of The University of Colorado. Buffoons Business Manager Joe Howard took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.

The A Cappella Blog (ACB): The Buffoons garnered a lot of attention last year upon being selected to be a part of the Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella compilation. What did this mean for the group, and what can you tell us about the experience?

Joe Howard (JH): This was a huge honor for the group to be selected out of over 200 groups to represent one of Ben Folds biggest hits. I think the biggest thing for us was the national recognition which is something we have never been exposed to before. The Buffoons have been around for 47 years now, so we are already very well established in the Denver-metro area, performing around 50 shows a year, but it was our chance to show all of America what the Colorado a capella scene is all about, and to be that representative meant a lot to us.

ACB: As an all-male group, what advantages do you enjoy? What challenges does the nature of the group present?

JH: Obviously, the biggest challenges we face as an all male group has to do with range. Without soprano voices, we miss out on a lot of beautiful opportunities that co-ed groups can create in their arrangements. For example the song “Magic” on Ben Folds Presents performed by University of Chicago’s ‘Voices in your Head’ is something we regrettably will never be able to pull off. That song has such beautiful moments in it throughout the entire piece that was made possible by the range of notes that they can utilize, and that is shown in the first 10 seconds of that piece.

Some advantages I feel that we are able to enjoy in the all-male group setting is the brotherhood that we form with each other. For many of us, this is our replacement for a school fraternity. I feel as if we have all formed an extremely strong brotherhood that will never fade.

Read the rest

TakeNote is a top-notch all-female a cappella group out of Clemson University. Music Director Laura McQuiston took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.

The A Cappella Blog (ACB: Describe a typical TakeNote rehearsal. How often do you guys practice and what do you do to achieve such success by the time you hit the stage? Do rehearsals change before a big show? Before you guys go into competition?

Laura McQuiston (LM): TakeNote has two and a half hours of scheduled class time each week. However, we often add extra rehearsals because we never seem to have enough time! I think the key to our success on stage is practice, practice, practice. Besides practicing, our enthusiasm for the music, and our awesome chemistry with each other as a group always allows us to have fun on stage and perform our best.

Rehearsals do change before a big show. We schedule a lot of extra rehearsals a few weeks before the show, and we practice every day the week before the show. Before big competitions, we may also schedule extra rehearsals, but practice changes in that we just focus on what we’ll be singing in the competition. Our time is devoted to our competition set in order to be the best we possibly can.

ACB: Are there any unique traditions or pieces of history attached to your group?

LM: Yes. We have an “alumni song,” that we sing at our show every semester. We invite all of our alumni to come on stage and sing with us. The song is “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Also, before big competitions and shows, we have a special way of linking hands to say a prayer or blessing before we perform. It is very calming and connects us as a group.

Read the rest

Take Note is a top-notch mixed group out of Catholic University. Group President Kim Clark took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog

The A Cappella Blog: What is the audition process like for Take Note?

Kim Clark (KC): This is Take Note Acapella’s third year in existence so we’ve only had a few auditions up to date. At auditions, we have students fill out a history form explaining previous singing and/or music experience. We also make them answer a goofy question, normally along the lines of, “If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be?” or, “Did you cry at the end of Titanic?”. We have each auditionee sing a verse and a chorus of a pop/rock song that shows off their range. Next we ask them to sing up and down the scales and harmonize with us. We accept people in based on the spots we need filled and their musical/vocal abilities. A big deciding factor for our officer board is whether or not this auditionee has that special “it” factor we are looking for. We love seeing students that are filled with charisma and positive, upbeat energies!

ACB: How does your group go about deciding which songs to add to its repertoire? Who is responsible for arrangements?

KC: Almost all of our arrangements are purchased from professional a cappella arrangers. Although these can get expensive, we love having songs written custom to our groups needs and strengths. Our group also spends a lot of time thinking ahead, figuring out what songs will be the next big thing. Although we keep in mind not to choose an overplayed song that too many a cappella groups have done. Recently, we’ve been picking a lot of slow tempo, alternative, ballad pieces. Slower songs are fun to work on because it allows us to closely knit-pick harmonies and hone in on each dynamic at an unhurried pace.

Read the rest

The second annual SpringSing a cappella event is right around the corner. Event organizer Robert Burns, II took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.

The A Cappella Blog (ACB): One of the featured events of SpringSing is the collegiate competition. How many groups do you expect to participate this year? Who are the judges, and on what basis will they be selecting winners? What is at stake?

Robert Burns, II (RB): At this time, six collegiate groups are expected to participate. Groups will be from James Madison University, Georgia Tech, Florida, State and The University of Georgia. Judges include a representative from each of the professional performing groups as well as at least one judge from the Contemporary A cappella Society. Groups compete for a variety of prizes including a 1st Place trophy and cash prize of $500. There are other trophies and awards for 2nd and 3rd place, as well as certificates for excellence in any number of areas (i.e. best choreography, song Arrangement, etc.).

ACB: What professional groups can attendees expect to see on Friday night?

RB: Attendees can expect an A-list of professional performers in Friday night’s Benefit Concert. Here are just a few: Business as Usual, Duwende, Almost Recess, and Ahmir.

Read the rest

Cadence is a top-notch all-male group out of Kansas State. Business Manager Stephen Arnold took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.

The A Cappella Blog (ACB): Last year, Cadence celebrated its 10th anniversary as a group. What did this mean for the group? How did Cadence commemorate this auspicious occasion?

Stephen Arnold (SA): We didn’t really do much more in 2008 than we do any other year. Just before the Fall 2007 semester, the university’s choral director of 40+ years retired, which left us struggling without our advisor to help us fine-tune our music. The temporary choral director wasn’t much help, so we pretty much had to go it alone for the year. Despite the hardship, we released our CD Apply Directly to the Forehead in the spring of 2008. We still can’t decide whether we liked or hated the mastering job the studio did–they were new. At our spring concert, we used our encore performance of Ben Fold’s “The Luckiest” to help our then-music manager Bryan Meyer propose to his girlfriend (and Cadence groupie) Michelle. They got married this past summer.

In the fall of 2008, we had our first out-of-state performance when we were invited to perform with the Greenleafs at Washington University in St. Louis. We are “the best and only” group at K-State, so being
exposed to a university that is home to TEN very active a cappella ensembles was a real eye-opener. After that trip, we were really inspired to start looking into competitions, doing more tours, etc. We also started laying the groundwork for new a cappella groups to get started, and this semester we’ve been helping to organize K-State’s first all-female a cappella group.

So I guess we never really “celebrated” 10 years of K-State a cappella, but rather had a “coming of age” and decided to become bigger, better, and more active than the group has ever been before.

Read the rest