5C A cappella

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Hi folks,

Today’s blog is brought to you by our newest addition to the HMC blogging team, first year student, Israel (Izzy) Jones! Here he is with his first blog on a cappella at the Claremont Colleges:

As the school year starts to enter full swing, there’s music in the air. A cappella, to be exact. A cappella, for those who don’t know, refers to singing without instrumental accompaniment. Although the term itself is a traditional choral one, the pop a cappella scene has become quite large. These adaptations expand on the harmonies of pop songs, and often recreate instrumental sounds with singing or beatboxing. There’s a fairly strong tradition of a cappella at the 5Cs (short for the five Claremont Colleges), with eight different groups between the five campuses. These groups perform at a number of concerts and events throughout the year, and many practice several times a week. 

Various 5C A Cappella groups, pictured for the pre-audition concert.

Various 5C A Cappella groups, pictured for the pre-audition concert.

Two weeks ago, I attended a pre-audition concert for the 5C a cappella groups Mood Swing, 9th Street Hooligans, and Midnight Echo. The concert was meant to be a taste of the different groups, before the auditions that took place just this last weekend. Their performances were amazing, and it was clear that all the groups put a lot of effort into what they did. There was passion, humor, and excitement. Because their songs are adaptations of pop songs, often breaking one singing part into several, the groups arrange the pieces they perform themselves. It was cool to be able to hear new interpretations of songs I was familiar with and enjoy. On top of that, I’m personally a fan of large group musical performance, which is not something you usually get with the modern pop scene.

The Claremont Shades

The Claremont Shades

Mood Swing

Mood Swing

The Ninth Street Hooligans

The Ninth Street Hooligans

I got to sit down with Amelia Sheppard, a Sophomore at Mudd, and assistant music director of the 9th Street Hooligans. She joined last year, and I wanted to ask her a little bit about her experience with a cappella here at Mudd.

9SH (Ninth Street Hoolifans) Mudders, from left to right: Daniel Rodriguez, Amelia Sheppard, Zane Bodenbender.

9SH (Ninth Street Hoolifans) Mudders, from left to right: Daniel Rodriguez, Amelia Sheppard, Zane Bodenbender.

Q: Why did you decided to join a cappella in the first place?

A: Music is the coolest thing on the planet, and I wanted something other than school work to spend time on so I didn’t go crazy. Also, music people are cool, and it was a way to make friends outside of the Mudd bubble.

Q: What do you enjoy about a cappella, now that you’ve been a part of it for a year?

A: [A cappella is] kind of like a family, a family that shares a passion, and it’s nice to have people you share interests with. It’s a creative outlet you get to do with other people.

Q: What’s special about a cappella as a musical medium?

A: We create music only with our mouths. No instruments or electronic things, besides microphones. And that’s pretty unique, because the human voice is a really special thing. It’s cool to be able to be creative in that constraint, because it’s not really a constraint. It opens up a whole world of possibilities.

A cappella is strong at the 5Cs, and at Mudd. It can be fun, weird, exciting, and definitely shows a lot of concern and effort on the part of its members. Although auditions for a cappella are over for this year (other than some possible needs in the fall), going to concerts and events is a great way to get in on the fun, and become involved with the 5C musical community.