Jenny Guo/The Choate News
On Saturday May 12, thunderous applause echoed through the Seymour St. John Chapel during one of Choate’s favorite events of the year — Acappellooza.
Acappellooza is an annual competition between a cappella groups at Choate: the Whimawehs, Bellacanto, Lilith, the Melatones, and Maiyeros. During the event, each group presents two songs, rehearsed and arranged by the students themselves. While a cappella groups from peer schools have performed at Acappellooza in past years — the most recent being groups from Hotchkiss and Loomis Chaffee in 2016 — there were no visiting groups this year.
The performances were separated into two rounds, meaning that every group sang two times. After each song, audience members casted votes for their favorite groups with monetary donations. Lily Kops ’18 crafted a thermometer chart for each of the five groups, which updated the audience of which group was winning.
Acappellooza is a unique event because it only features a cappella. While many other high schools host choral or orchestral concerts, not many have an annual a cappella show.
Graysen Airth ’18, leader of the Whimawehs, described her feelings for the event. “I love Acappellooza because, other than Parents Weekend, it’s the only performance for a capella. The audience is always so much more excited and engaged.” She continued, “There’s so much more support, energy, and commitment from the audience at a cappella events than at any other performance.”
During one performance, the Whimawehs covered “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and donned black hats, which were later thrown away as a part of the choreography. Bellocanto performed an Ed Sheeran medley. Lilith harmoniously sang “Yesterday” by the Beatles, without crediting a solo to any group member. Melatones combined song and step to present a powerful interpretation of “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Lastly, the Maiyeros performed a wide mixture of popular songs like “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran and “Havana” by Camila Cabello. At the end of the event, all five ensembles gathered for a special round and took audience suggestions for songs.
On the surface, Acappellooza seems to be a fun occasion that gives the five groups a chance to perform together. However, every “vote” for the performances was a donation that supported a charitable cause.
Scott Romeyn ’18, leader of the Maiyeros, said, “Acappellooza is the cumulation of all of the acapella rehearsals. It’s, of course, for people to have a good time and listen to what we’ve been working on, but it’s also to collect donations for PS154, a public school in New York. It’s in a very, very poor area of New York — one of the poorest areas in the US.” He continues, “Last year, [the money] went to buying piano lessons and keyboards. This year, it will go to clothes, like winter apparel.”
Needing to communicate with PS154, setting up the chapel for the show, and organizing Acapalooza itself required a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes work.
On this, Romeyn said, “Ms. Kegel does a lot of the work, communicating with PS154 in terms of what they want the money donated for, organizing who will be collecting the money. She chooses the order of the acapella groups and she has done rehearsals with each group. She makes sure that their songs are good and to give any advice because she’s the club advisor for all the acapella groups.”
Airth concluded with her thoughts on Choate and the school’s music programs: “I think Choate’s the only school with five a cappella groups — that’s a lot for an 800 person school. It’s a really unique aspect how supported the vocal programs are, and that’s why acappella has stayed relevant. Students get opportunities to perform and try things that they wouldn’t have in other schools, like Acappellooza.”
