For years, Choate’s acappella groups have performed on the eve of Family Weekend as a warm welcome to visiting families. Although this tradition was interrupted last year, acappella has come back this year in full swing with performances enjoyed by both students and parents in the Paul Mellon Arts Center courtyard.
Lillith, an all female group, opened the night’s program with “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars, which they arranged a couple of years ago. “As an Acappella group, we strive to build a community amongst ourselves,” said Angela Deng ’22, one of the presidents. “Because of this, we place a lot of emphasis on group members having both a lovely personality and, of course, a passion for singing.” In each rehearsal, the group often has one singer from each section sing together. This way, individuals are able to learn their more difficult parts and have the time to perfect them. Deng described Lillith as the color lavender. She said, “The color fits both in the literal sense that lavender is one of the group’s colors along with white, and figuratively because everyone involved is always extremely sweet and nice.”
Bellacanto, a coed group, performed “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran and “Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Foundations, which are group classics that some members already knew well. “We were hoping to bring some joy to our listeners, especially with it being our first real performance of the year and after Covid,” said Gavin Doak ’22, one of the presidents. Although Bellacanto had the largest returning membership this year and was very selective during the audition process, they were specifically looking for people that could fill the bass and tenor voice parts. They heavily valued how well prospective singers could work with the group vocally and collaboratively as well as their individual musical strength. Soloists for each performance were picked via a private democratic vote from all members of the group. “Personally, I would describe our vibe as laid back but motivated to put on a strong performance,” Doak concluded.
All female group the Whimawehs, nicknamed the Whims, sang “Bills” by Beyoncé and “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys, which they thought might be familiar to both students and parents. When it comes to arranging music, Whims president Réka Bajus ’22 typically starts with a chord, tries to mimic the different parts of the song, and then arranges each part verse by verse. “It’s like solving a puzzle,” she said. Bajus looked for people who have a lot of vocal flexibility and a true passion for singing to join the Whims this year. The group leans towards singing blues, jazz, R&B/soul, and some rock and pop music, establishing themselves as one of the more “edgy” Acapella groups. However, they have built close bonds with each other through “Whimdins” (Whims dinners), “Whimsgiving” (Whims Thanksgiving), and hanging out over a pizza or two after practice.
The Maiyeros, Choate’s only all-male group, closed the night with “Blue Moon” by The Marcels and “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood, two contrasting songs that took the crowd on a journey and showed off the full range of their singers. These songs were both incredibly difficult to learn, but served as a good icebreaker that threw new singers into the deep end. Cristian Castro ’22 and Varun Ramamurthi ’22, the presidents of Maiyeros, said that the most important component to their success is inspiring singers to truly care about the success of the whole group through fostering a supportive energy and hard work. They rehearse two to three times every week, and everyone takes time outside practice to look over and learn their own parts. “The Maiyeros are my family,” said Castro, “It’s my safe space on campus.” Ramamurthi continued that sentiment saying, “I love tracking kids’ growth, progress, and improved stage presence.”
“It was incredible to see so many familiar faces create such beautiful music, and I am incredibly proud to say that I am part of such a talented community,” said audience member Kaho Hoshi ’25.
