“Pitch Perfect” does not have it right.
In a classroom in the University Center of the Arts, a group of 16 students meet around a piano, harmonizing and singing. Including intense dance routines with their strong singing, such as that portrayed in “Pitch Perfect” and “Glee,” proves to be difficult and unrealistic.
This is Mainstreet, one of the four a cappella groups at Colorado State University. Resonant RAMblings, Bassic and Elevation are the other on-campus groups.
“It is hard to incorporate choreography with a cappella because we are already doing everything,” said Sara Chaudhary, a sophomore business major and Mainstreet member.
Despite the popularity a cappella has received with movies and shows, these on-campus musical groups remain fairly unknown at CSU.
Mainstreet started two semesters ago by Seth Roberts, a freshman music education and vocal performance major.
“This semester, the group has raised the bar,” said Roberts. “The quality of this group is what gets us the recognition.”
Each group brings a unique aspect of music to the table. For Mainstreet, it is their strong dedication to their art and to each other that sets them apart.
“We have dedication and passion,” said Andrew Wallace, a sophomore theater major and member of Mainstreet. “It is true that some groups may have a better blend than us on certain songs, but we have the most passion.”
Elevation is the latest a cappella group on campus. It was started this year by Drea Swiney, a senior history major. Swiney partnered with Resonant RAMblings member Alec Walsh to assemble Elevation because they saw many talented female singers getting turned away from groups due to a lack of room. To fix this, they created a female-only group, the only non co-ed a cappella group at CSU.
“The main goal of this group is to bring ladies together who love making music and to create a stress-free, loving and fun environment to escape the academic life for a few hours a week,” said Nicole Conklin, a sophomore journalism major.
What sets Elevation apart, in addition to being all female, is their adaptability as singers.
“As a group, no member is assigned a specific vocal part to sing the entire year, like most groups tend to do,” Conklin said.
Elevation, Bassic and Mainstreet will be holding their Christmas showcases on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Bassic and Mainstreet will be collaborating. The show will be held at St. John XXIII Catholic Church in Fort Collins.
“I really want to see (a cappella) on campus become better known so that people can get more involved and people who don’t know as much about it can experience this awesome form of creative music,” Swiney said.
These a cappella groups are doing what they love. According to Wallace, he and his fellow Mainstreet members, are here “to make music, and nothing is going to stop us from doing what we joined the group for in the first place.”
Collegian Reporter Zara DeGroot can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Zaradegroot.
