“Glee” and “Pitch Perfect” are filled to the brim with songs performed by a cappella groups. A cappella, a style of music consisting entirely of vocals, has made its way from the big screen to Staples, thanks to Keanan Pucci ’16.
Pucci had the idea of creating Staples’ very first a cappella club that would sing different songs than the ones sung by Orphenians.
“Although Orphenians is an incredible group, I’ve always wanted to be in an a cappella choir that sang modern music,” Pucci said.
According to Pucci, almost every college or professional a capella group is no greater than 16 people, so 16 was the decided number. In order to ensure a more intimate style, Pucci opted for an audition process.
“I felt if I had too big of a group, people would justify skipping meetings and not being an active participant of the club. In order to learn or come up with songs as a group, everyone really will need to be an active member,” Pucci said.
Each student auditioning sang roughly 30 seconds of a pop song and demonstrated any other vocal abilities. The contestants were judged by Pucci, club member Julia Kempner ’16 and the club’s faculty advisor, Luke Rosenberg.
Proud club member Douglas
Raigosa ’16 said that he usually moves around while singing in order to calm his nerves. “I just made sure I was moving when I auditioned (arms and shuffling),” Raigosa said.
Pucci was able to see and judge Raigosa and all the other students who tried out for a cappella. “Everyone blew me away, so the decision process was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Pucci said.
The a cappella club hasn’t started rehearsing yet due to the production of “Hello Dolly,” but, according to Pucci, the group plans on meeting every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Both Pucci and Kleiman hope to perform at charity events, cafes, and restaurants, and go caroling and have a concert at the school, but they will ultimately “be taking whatever comes our way this year,” Pucci said.
The group is made up of students with different backgrounds and strengths. According to Kleiman, club member Raigosa has the ability to sing both high and low male parts and can whistle; Aaron Samuels ’16 is particularly talented at beatboxing; and Kleiman herself is known in the ensembles at school for being able to reach the lowest notes out of all the females.
“Everyone has their own unique little talents, and that’s what makes our group unique,” Kleiman said.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MATHIS ’16
