By Joschua Greiten
Correspondent
On Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m., Kendall Hall was bathed in pleasant dark blue light. Many came out on this chilly fall Sunday to hear and see the College’s annual Acapalooza with music from Måneskin to One Direction. Kendall Hall was well attended with just under 200 people in the audience.
Four a cappella groups at the College performed at Acapalooza, such as Voice of Hope, iTunes, Troublemakers and The Trentones.
“It was awesome to be finally back in person,” said Ryan McLaughlin, a math and education major. He’s a part of the i-Tunes, the first organization taking the stage and the College’s only international acapella group with music from artists all over the world.
The chemistry among the band members seemed fantastic; their performance was a success and ended with thunderous applause from the audience. The fact that the ensemble works so well together was especially impressive since i-Tunes had 10 new members on stage with them.
Many members of the band graduated last year, which of course presents a bit of a challenge to any organization.
“We’re very glad that we found these ten very talented new people,” said i-Tunes president Alex Vargas at the beginning of the show. The applause of the audience proved her right.
The second organization playing at Acapalooza was Voice of Hope, the College’s Christian a cappella group. They also struggled a bit with finding new members. But, as with i-Tunes, this problem was solved relatively quickly, resulting in an amazing vocal harmony on stage.
“We had some trouble in the beginning of the semester to find new members,” said Voice of Hope president Seth Marcelo, a senior nursing major. “We started with five, now we have nine, and it really works perfect.”
i-Tunes and Voice of Hope were followed by the a cappella organization "The Troublemakers," and "The Trentones” closed the show.
At the very end there was a classic of every Acapalooza: four a cappella groups together on a full stage with one song to end the show.
When they announced the song that will close Acapalooza for this year, there were inevitable grins on stage and in the audience. “Thriller” by Michael Jackson was the one: perfect for Halloween, which was the date forAcapalooza before the event got postponed. “Thriller” still worked two weeks later. Incredibly rehearsed and tuned, the interjections came during the song from members of each organization.
“It was amazing,” said Angela Mcentee, a deaf education major at the College. "I actually just came for Voice of Hope, but everyone was just great.” But there is one thing she has to criticize with a smile, “I wish they would perform more often in this constellation.”
One more thing caught Mcentee’s attention during the concert — everybody on stage, and the audience of course, was wearing a mask. It was really good to finally see these concerts in person again, according to Mcentee. "I wish the masks were not necessary, but there is no other way yet,” she said.
Looking at the stage, Mcentee added, "I think it's not easy for them to sing with these masks. I really respect that.”
Voice of Hope President Seth Marcelo also really liked the final performance in particular.
"Feels good to be united as one,” Marcelo said with a smile.
