All Jammed Up

Four years ago, a group of first-years tried out for the Callbacks, Din and Tonics, Krokodiloes, Opportunes, Radcliffe Pitches and Veritones—and got rejected from every single one.

In a strong audition pool for the “Grandfathered Six,” their high C’s and beatboxing rhythms just didn’t make the cut, but the freshman didn’t throw away their pitchpipes. Undaunted, they formed a new group, the LowKeys.

In an effort to prove themselves, the new group recorded CDs, toured in the Northeast and Paris and sold out concerts in smaller Harvard venues like Paine Hall and Lowell Lecture Hall, says Oliver B. Libby ’03, one of the founders.

This November, the singers once shut out from the top groups on campus will grab their brass ring—a concert of their own in Sanders Theater. The LowKeys, four years ago the least likely contender to perform in Sanders, has broken into the “Grandfathered Six” and made it seven.

The first group since 1986 to gain the right to an evening in the esteemed 1,166-seat space, the arrival of the LowKeys in Sanders is symptomatic of the distinctly collegiate a capella boom on campus.

Despite the obvious demand for beatboxing and vocal harmony, some wonder how a nascent group could gain Sanders performance privileges in such a short amount of time, while student bands and established improv comedy troupes have never managed to take the Sanders spotlight by selling out other venues and convincing administrators to give them the space.

“When the LowKeys became the seventh, it was kind of telling of where things are going in the sense that an a capella groups could just start and get all the privileges,” Undergraduate Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 says.

With three new groups in the past few years, the sustainability of campus a capella is coming under question, as the quanity of groups strains space and financial resources, singing talent and undergraduate audiences.

“An acapocalypse is inevitable,” says former Din and Tonic Brandon C. Presser ’05.

Spread Too Thin?

With the three newcomers—the LowKeys, the all-female Fallen Angels and C-Sharps, a Chinese a capella group—fifty sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones have been added to the a capella scene. But many wonder if this means talent is being too dispersed.

“As far as quality, the talent is spread thin and the audition pool is small,” says Presser.

Some a capella leaders disagree and argue that Harvard’s musical student body has singers to spare.

“The fact that we have enough talent to go around for several a capella groups indicates something,” says Callbacks President Christina J. Vargas ’04.

“Does it dilute the pool? Yeah, a little bit,” says Libby of the increased number of groups. “But there’s still a lot of Harvard singers.”

Several of Harvard’s a capella groups have achieved national acclaim, often appearing on the annual “Best of College A Capella” CD.

But some say quality is already on the decline. Several who attended this year’s Freshman Jam, like Crimson Key Society member Jody M. Kelman ’05, say the performance seemed flat compared to past years.

“The soloists weren’t as strong,” she says. “Some of the groups sound like they are struggling a bit.”

Though two or more groups may be after the same top singers, Opportunes President Christopher J. Miritello says the groups rarely get competitive. He points out that a deep pool of strong a capella singers on campus is in every group’s interest.

“Naturally we all want the best to choose our group, but we recognize that we’re all in this together,” he says.

A capella groups may also dilute the pool of crooners available for other campus choirs, like the Radcliffe Choral Society, Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus and University Choir.

Richard C. Lonsdorf ’06, manager of Glee Club Lite, says the rise of a capella groups has had an impact on the number of people who audition for Glee Club. New Glee Club members sometimes quit after acceptance in a capella groups, which hold auditions after the Glee Club. This fall two members quit, but Lonsdorf says the number is generally higher.

“We often lose some of our good singers to a capella groups,” he says.

Neil Vasan ’05, manager of Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, says audition numbers have dropped. This fall, Collegium auditioned 200 potential new singers, down from the usual 250 to 300 auditionees.

“Significantly fewer people auditioned than in years past,” Vasan says, though he hesitates to attribute the decrease solely to the a capella boom.

Solo Lifestyle

During audition week in September, it’s easy to spot an a capella singer by the dark circles under his eyes and the tendency to nod off in class.

Auditionees make the rounds for each group in preliminary auditions, “following” one or more groups all the way to final cuts. A capella members deliberate on who to call back after each round until the wee hours of the morning—this year’s final deliberations for several groups went until 7 a.m.

When the final decisions are made, the veteran singers rush around the Yard to serenade their bleary-eyed and thrilled newbies, engulfing them into the group for life. As one group says, “Once a Krok, always a Krok.”

The intimacy of a 10- to 15-person group offers the opportunity for members to bond.

“When one of us is sick, is having a bad day, or just wants someone to talk to, the Veritones are there….we believe that friendship and group cohesion translate into togetherness during performances,” reads the Veritones’ website, which dedicated an entire page to describing the group’s close friendships.

“Socially it becomes an important part of every member’s life,” says Vargas, who is dating former Callback member Benjamin T. Jackson ’03, not an uncommon phenomenon in a capella groups.

The ability to perform and share their art pushes a capella singers through the long rehearsals and frustrating nights, says Libby.

“The idea of going out and performing in front of people, especially a discerning audience like Harvard’s—it’s just fun,” he says.

Still, the intense practice and performance schedule takes its toil on members.

“You have a minimum [number of practice hours], but it is always perpetually more,” Presser says. “It can get rather tedious.”

Never-ending rehearsals, touring and weekend shows can consume the life of an a capella singer, sometimes making the opportunity to pursue other activities impossible.

And though groups tend to be unified internally, competition between groups for full audiences can be intense.

“I have seen groups laugh at other groups when they don’t sell out a venue, or when they don’t get an audience,” says Presser. “It’s an unnecessary catiness.”

Still, Miritello and Vargas both emphasize that a capella groups try to go to each other’s concerts, and Vargas holds a rosier viewpoint.

“Relationships between groups are better than they’ve ever been,” Vargas says. “We are developing our own identities and there really is no reason to compete.”

Space Wars

The surge in a capella has taken its toll on Harvard’s already strained resources for performing arts groups.

“The activity has a very limited impact but it takes up a lot of space, money, and time,” Chopra says.

Chopra points out that dozen-member a capella groups often occupy JCRs and other shared rehearsal spaces for three to four consecutive hours. On a campus where performing arts groups struggle to find adequate meeting space on short notice, such long rehearsals aggravate the space crunch.

This fall the improv comedy troupe Immediate Gratification Players needed a room for an audition and couldn’t find one, according to Chopra.

And performance space is even more competitive. Until the LowKeys hit the scene, only the “Grandfathered Six” had the right to perform in Sanders Theater, along with faculty-directed orchestras and bands.

The next-largest music performance venue is Paine Hall, with 437 seats, and Lowell Lecture Hall, with 352 seats. The LowKeys gained its Sanders status after selling out both venues.

But the jump from a 437-seat venue to a 1166-seat theater has dramatic consequences on audience sales.

“The current groups that perform don’t sell out Sanders to begin with, so to add another group to the schedule that won’t sell out is just making things more difficult,” Presser adds.

And other singing groups are shut out of Sanders entirely. Sanders Theater is reserved for a capella groups nine weekends out of the year, allowing each group a solo concert and one shared with someone else.

Weekend nights not used by a capella or faculty-conducted bands are given to visiting professional groups, says Memorial Hall Program Manager Julie Hennrikus. Hennrikus says that student groups account for about 40 percent of the shows at Sanders Theater, but points out that most student groups will only perform on weekends, whereas many professional events occur on weeknights.

A capella also requires little rehearsal time, essential for a venue like Sanders that serves as a lecture space until 2 p.m. on weekdays.

But Chopra complains that Sanders should focus on undergraduate performance by bands and improv groups, not just a capella.

“I don’t think we are getting the real diversity of music and talent at Sanders, because we overemphasize some things over others,” Chopra said.

Hennrikus points out that the undergraduate dancers of City Step also use Sanders, obtaining seven consecutive days of rehearsal and performance time every other year. This averages to 3.5 days a year, compared to the 1.5 days per year an capella group receives.

And while the struggle for space keeps dancers on their toes, they too say Sanders is not a viable option.

“It is difficult to put up a concert dance performance in Sanders Theater because of the nature of the floor and the lack of wing space,” said Anne T. Hilby, who directs City Step.

But being kept out of Sanders may represent a loss of status for some music groups. Lonsdorf says the Glee Club Lite experienced frustration this year when the LowKeys were asked to be the seventh group to perform at the Class of 2007’s Freshman Jam, replacing the Glee Club Lite’s spot.

“They gained Sanders status and they just sort of jumped ahead,” says Lonsdorf. “We have a lot of trouble claiming the same standing because we’re tied to the Glee Club.”

Mahmoud A. Youssef ’05, who coordinates freshman week for the Crimson Key society, says a capella conveys a unique “spirit and tradition” to the incoming freshmen.

“We showcase the groups simply because they are fun to listen to and they are at the heart of the arts scene at Harvard,” he says.

But because of the hype surrounding the freshman jam, unrepresented groups may have a harder sell when they try to recruit auditioners.

Youseef says that other a capella groups not included in the Grandfathered Seven have approached Crimson Key about performing alongside the other groups in the jam. But Youssef says that Crimson Key just simply cannot accommodate all groups hoping to perform during one week.

Target Audience

For the audiences which flock to Sanders to hear the Veritones sing “Vogue” year after year, a capella is an immensely popular chance to see pop music and well-known classics performed live. A capella groups also try to keep their jams light, filled with humor and variety.

But as the number of groups expand, it becomes harder for groups to differentiate themselves in meaningful ways to prospective audience members.

“So many groups are very similar that the groups aren’t differentiating themselves in terms of repertoire and humor,” Presser says. “It’s starting to become one-track.”

Presser says that fewer a capella groups might mean more sold-out shows for each group, since audiences would have fewer performances from which to choose.

Still, Vargas argues that groups show “different personalities, music and performance style.”

And even without die-hard a capella fans, a core audience can found in both friends of performers and in incoming first-years.

“Half of any a capella audience is people who came to see their friends,” said Libby, and many a capella singers a agree that parents, blockmates, roommates and alums often make up a large part of the audience.

Some say the new blood brought in by each first-year class provides an audience that isn’t yet tired of the same arrangements.

“There’s a high turnover in the collegiate population,” she says. “Every year there’s a new class who has never experienced it before.”

Gretchen L. Hults ’07, who attended the freshman a capella jam, says the groups hit their target audience.

“Everyone thought it was really awesome,” she says of her first-year friends. “They all looked really enthused and we had so much fun.”

Even though upperclass students might yawn when the Opportunes start snapping, the wide-eared Class of 2008 will be back in Sanders next September. There’s no denying a capella is catchy, and judging by ticket sales, audiences are coming back for more.

“It becomes sort of a guilty pleasure,” Mirotelli says.

—Staff writer Kristi L. Jobson can be reached at jobson@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Faryl W. Ury can be reached at ury@fas.harvard.edu.