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Cornell Singers Gain Community, Cultural Connection, Artistic Outlet Through A Cappella Groups
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Cornell a capella groups foster community among artists and promote cultural representation in music.
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/a-capella/)
Cornell a capella groups foster community among artists and promote cultural representation in music.
In preparation for their end-of-semester concerts, Cornell’s a cappella groups have spent time practicing intensely during the rehearsal period that the a cappella community calls “Hell Week.”
The small a cappella ensemble brought their big guns right away, with each member speaking in rhythm, creating a wall of chatter that in an instant, gave way to raucous polyphonic vocals. After a few iterations, rhythmic spoken word became interspersed with small vocal phrases. The piece was chugging along and it was clear that Roomful of Teeth had a very important message to share with the audience that evening. Roomful of Teeth, the Grammy-winning vocal octet, visited Bailey Hall on Friday night to kick off the Cornell Concert Series 2018-2019 season. The group was founded in 2009 with a goal to explore the expressive potential of the human voice.
The slate of acts and performances showcased at the festival on the Ithaca Commons reflected diversity in both form and cultural background, representing music and dance from all corners of the globe.
The Men of Last Call, a Cornell all-male a cappella group, was invited by alumni to perform at the Cornell Asia-Pacific Leadership Conference in Hong Kong during spring break.
The Touchtones all-female a capella group will be releasing its third E.P., or extended play, on Spotify by the end of this semester, just in time for the group’s 35th anniversary.
Talent in the group ranges from a former singer from the disbanded Cayuga’s Waiters to people who are “just really awful singers,” according to Greene.
The Emergency Cornellians Aiding and Responding to Employees Fund provides financial assistance to members of Cornell’s faculty and staff experiencing unexpected financial hardship.