The college’s four a cappella groups will come together this weekend for the 15th annual Evening of A Cappella and will be accompanied by two guest groups from nearby colleges.
The four Lafayette groups including Soulfege, the Mar-Keys, the Chorduroys and Cadence will perform, as well as all-female groups The Girls Next Door from Muhlenberg College and the Echoes from Lehigh University.
The annual a cappella show will be hosted for the second year in a row by Matthew Ackerman ’18 and Matthew Berry ’18. According to Ackerman, there will be multiple “Pitch Perfect” references made throughout the show.
Fifteen years ago, Evening of A Cappella was first introduced by members of the Arts Society who were also involved in a cappella, said Allison Quensen Blatt, Director of Operations and Patron Services at Williams Center for the Arts. According to Blatt, the purpose of Evening of A Cappella was to give groups on campus the opportunity to put on a concert.
Blatt said the proceeds of the show were originally used to help fund the groups’ special project expenses, traveling and recording.
The Arts Society was interested in doing something that other arts groups weren’t doing at the time, Blatt said. Big, collective a cappella concerts were not something that happened often.
Since the show’s creation, it has become an annual tradition for the college’s vocal talent. In the past, the proceeds from the event have been distributed towards two causes — one for the a cappella groups and one for the Daniel P. O’Neil ’06 Memorial Fund in honor of Dan O’Neill ’06, who was as victim of the Virginia Tech shooting. The Daniel P. O’Neil ’06 Memorial Fund is used to support senior projects in engineering, specifically civil engineering as O’Neill was a civil engineer. Last year, the fundraiser raised $1,400 to be split between the two causes.
According Allie Rosen ’19 of The Chorduroys, the group is excited to be performing four songs, two of which are relatively new. The Chorduroys pieces will also feature a Justin Timberlake song, Rosen said.
Soulfege will perform four brand new songs, some of which have been arranged by their group members. Soulfege is also eager to enter the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) again this winter, Sophia Rinaldi ’19 said.
After recently introducing four new members to the group, the all-female a cappella group Cadence is eager to perform in full this Saturday, Aidan Trevisan ’19 said. The Mar-Keys, who will say goodbye to the group’s founder Mayna Chen ’18, look forward to the evening as well, said Kara Rhodes ’19, the group’s president.
The Evening of A Cappella will begin this Saturday at 8:00 p.m at the Williams Center for the Arts. Tickets are $3 for students, $5 for non-Lafayette students, $5 for staff and faculty, and $10 for the general public.