Cornell is built upon traditions. Dragon Day, Slope Day and the rituals performed at hockey games all hark back to former times, brought back to life by constant memory and repeated action. A cappella is another tradition here at Cornell, stretching back to 1968, when The Hangovers were founded as the first a cappella group on campus. However, since 1968, fifteen other gifted singing groups have sprung up, from The Key Elements to Absolute. On Sunday, Mar. 23, twelve ensembles took the stage at Kennedy Hall to bring tradition to life in a competition called A Cappella United.
Yet, it wasn’t a competition. It was a celebration of the talent, grit and musical ability Cornell has to offer. More than that, it was a homage to where many a cappella-ians begin: Pitch Perfect. Brought to theaters and hearts worldwide in 2012, Pitch Perfect follows a freshman along her a ca-path — the movie also includes an astonishing number of puns about a cappella. As President of the Cornell University A Cappella Advisory Council Emma Roder ’26 put it during her opening statement, this movie was the start of it all. In fact, for one a cappella group on Sunday, this movie was it all, from song choice to choreography, in a wonderful tribute to a film that inspired so many.
Andrew Juan ’25, choreographer for Absolute A Cappella and winner of Best Vocal Percussion at A Cappella United, wanted to do a “fun little callback” when he decided to put dance moves from the iconic film Pitch Perfect into Absolute’s routine. Though he normally finds inspiration for choreography from watching other groups or trying new things himself, Andrew saw his chance when Absolute selected “Give Me Everything,” originally performed by Pitbull, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown and famously sung by the Barden Bellas in Pitch Perfect. As Andrew put it, “There’s a common saying — good artists copy, great artists steal.” Of course, stealing does not always have a negative connotation. In this instance, stealing the choreography from a well-loved movie was not a criminal act, but a criminally good choice. The audience for A Cappella United burst into applause when Absolute had finished their number, and the group ended up winning two awards.
Ultimately, A Cappella United was a night for great artists. A cappella revolves around taking beloved songs from even more beloved artists and arranging them for the voices and audience singers’ have. It is a combination of tradition and originality. Tarana A Cappella mashed up JVKE’s “Golden Hour” with a song from a Bollywood movie. The Touchtones –—who ended up securing the award for Most Entertaining – put on Pharrell Williams’s “Double Life,” complete with Minion costumes and soloist Tess Lovell ’25 as Gru. Every act was a tribute to the music and personalities each group admired, while also showing off the individual flair of every student. Arranging a piece of music embodies this idea of taking a precious original and modifying it in order to add personal artistry — and there was even an award for it on Sunday, given to The Class Notes for Audrey Liu ’25’s arrangement of “I’m Tired.” With fresh voices and new perspectives being created and utilized throughout Cornell’s a cappella scene, A Cappella United managed to bring them all together for twelve songs and one epic show.
However, at the end of the day, President Emma Roder and Absolute’s choreographer Andrew Juan shared the same bit of advice: “It’s collegiate a cappella.” Though awards were parsed out ranging from Sexiest Group (Absolute) to Best Soloist (Last Call’s Adi Arora ’26), A Cappella United was about community. Unlike Pitch Perfect’s notable fierce vocal competition, differing groups did not face down in musical battle but cheered each other on from the stands. Inherent to the name, A Cappella United melded twelve ensembles into one voice while simultaneously blending established singing culture with distinctive notes from every bass, treble, tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano, soprano and all aca-people in between. As Chloe from Pitch Perfect foretold, the event was aca-awesome.
Jane Locke is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at jlocke@cornellsun.com.
