On Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., DU a cappella groups DU First Edition (DUFE) and Exit 205 will be holding a joint concert in the Reiman Theatre in Margery Reed Hall. The performance is co-sponsored by DU Student Activities and is the first step in an effort to build a more cooperative a cappella culture on campus.
Each group will perform three songs, with the concert culminating in a collaborative “Sing-Off” inspired by NBC’s popular a cappella competition show. This final part of the performance will combine two original arrangements of the same song, with the two a cappella groups “battling” for the spotlight.
The upcoming concert will be the first of its type on the DU campus. According to McKayla Stutz, a second year accounting major and a member of Exit 205, this performance is part of an effort to collaborate more with other groups on campus.
“Exit has really pushed this year to try and get more involved with the other groups, with the upcoming Sing-Off and things like that, and we’re really open to other groups and try to take in their opinions,” said Stutz.
A cappella culture has been steadily growing on the DU campus for a number of years. The university’s first successful a cappella group, the DU Idiosingcrasies, was founded in 2005. The group is still in operation today and has released two albums so far.
Since the Idiosingcrasies’s inception, new groups have risen and fallen, with the current number of groups standing at three: the DU Idiosingcrasies, Exit 205 and DUFE. One of these, DUFE, was founded just last school year. There are also rumors that a fourth group is currently in the works.
Alisa Brown, fourth year marketing major and President of DUFE, noted that, while there have been obstacles in building a new group, the campus climate has generally been welcoming of new a cappella talent.
“I think that there’s been a really strong reception for First Edition,” said Brown. “It was really exciting for people to have a new a cappella group on the scene that was so drastically different from the other groups on campus, being that we’re an all-female a cappella group.”
Overall, both Stutz and Brown said that DU is a good environment for a cappella groups to grow and work together.
“We want to keep an open mind and an open forum… between the groups so everybody is on the same page and …happy and confident with what they’re doing,” said Stutz.
For both women, DU’s upcoming Sing-Off concert reflects the growth occurring in the a cappella community across the nation. Brown emphasized a movement geared towards group collaboration.
“I think that it’s a really huge step forward in moving the groups toward working together more,” said Brown. “This is a great way to kind of get the ball rolling in people’s minds so they know this is not a scary thing to do but a great way to have us both shine.”
The Sing-Off concert will take place at 7 p.m on Jan. 30 in Margery Reed Hall’s Reiman Theatre. Admission is free of charge and all are welcome to attend.
