A Cappella Rush

[Low C Sharp]

I've been enjoying the rush threads so much, I thought some of you might be interested in hearing about a unique variant: a cappella rush! There are just a few campuses in the country where the Greek system is small, but the a cappella system is big, prominent, and serves many of the same purposes on campus (shrinking a small campus, a lifelong bond of brotherhood, alumni association, decades of tradition, etc.). At this handful of schools, a cappella rush has taken on many of the characteristics of NPC rush: coordinated attendance at the events of various groups, mutual selection where groups and "PNMs" cut their lists each night, a council that makes the rules, a formal final night called Pref, "dirty" techniques to pull in the most desirable freshmen, etc. etc. (Researching this parallel is actually what brought me to Greekchat in the first place.)

These campuses are so few, and the groups so small and distinctive, that I created a username just for this; otherwise I'd out myself to the whole Internet. Would anyone be interested in reading this kind of rush story?
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[dgdramadawg]

I'm definitely interested! At UGA, there were only three a cappella groups, so I love to hear about schools where it has a much bigger presence!!!

[Leslie Anne]

I've never even heard of a capella rush. I'd LOVE to read your story and learn about it!

[aephi alum]

I'm interested! A high school friend of mine went to a university where a cappella rush was huge. You got into a group not just on the quality of your voice, but also on your personality and how well you fit in with the group.

I sang with an a cappella group in college, but the process of joining placed a lot of emphasis on auditioning rather than on whether you "clicked" with the group. (Which, fortunately, I did.)

What voice do you sing? I'm a sopralto

[KSUViolet06]

Joining a singing group doesn't involve an audition?

[FuzzieAlum]

OK, I have to ask, what about people like me who are completely tone deaf? Would we be totally out of luck? It just seems odd to me to have the social system based on one particular skill.

[Low C Sharp]

I'm an Alto II, hence the username.

I'll call my college Bromwell, after the college that waitlisted Daria, but accepted her boyfriend Tom. If you've ever seen Daria, then you know the high school me, from the glasses to the sarcasm to the boots. I'd be pretty sure that they based the show on me if it weren't for the fact that I got into Bromwell, and Daria had to go to her safety school, Raft. I'll name the a cappella groups after other residents of Lawndale...Trent, Jane Lane, etc.

I was totally thrilled and excited to be at my dream school, but I was also totally intimidated. I was a big fish in a tiny pond in high school, and now I was a guppy at a school where (I thought) you basically had to be a beluga whale to get in the door.

I took it completely for granted that I had no chance of getting in to any of the competitive music and theater ensembles at Bromwell. I was mentally prepared to get bit parts in low-profile shows, and to be happy with that. I wasn't planning to waste my time auditioning for a cappella, though; typically only about 10% of the audition pool got into ANY group, and it was much more competitive for women than for men. I didn't even go to the freshman a cappella jam, when all the groups performed to attract auditionees, because I thought it would only break my heart to see something I wanted so badly and couldn't have. I was going to focus on attainable goals and be a happy guppy!

Theatrical auditions took place every night during the first week of the semester, and cast lists went up Monday at 5. I read my name on one list -- another -- another! I'd gotten leads in two lower-profile shows, and I was one of only eight Bromwell women cast in The Mikado, the biggest main-stage musical production going up that semester! OMG, I'm actually going to have to turn one of these parts down. Suck it, Daria, I'm going to be a star!

I ran back to my dorm to call my family and shriek and tell them to buy some plane tickets to come see my Bromwell stage debut. But I practically bumped into the sign on my dorm door: LAST CHANCE TO AUDITION FOR THE TRENTS! RIGHT NOW IN THE COMMON ROOM!

Well, I figured, I never thought I'd get into The Mikado...they're right here in my dorm...the Trents are supposed to be the most amazing coed group on campus...what the hell! I'll go in the common room and give it a shot.

The trouble was, everybody and her roommate wanted to audition for the Trents, too. The Trent who was helping the auditionees fill out forms before they went inside (gorgeous hair, perfect outfit, super friendly, etc.) told me it would probably be at least a 90 minute wait, but it was the last night of auditions for every group, and the Quinns, another coed group, were auditioning in the dorm next door -- maybe I'd like to go audition for the Quinns and then come back? I couldn't exactly tell her, "Actually, I only showed up at your audition because I live here, and by the time I walk over there I will surely lose my nerve," so I said, "Sure, I'll go try the Quinns!"

I go next door and find the Quinns. I haven't heard any of the groups sing, but so far, the Trents seem like a class operation and the Quinns are...kind of a joke. There's only one girl waiting to audition besides me, and the two female Quinns at the registration table just talk to each other the whole time we're waiting our turn to go sing for the rest of the group. I start to feel pretty unwelcome there.

So I do a preliminary audition for the Quinns (these are mostly the same with every group) and go back to my dorm to the Trents. The friendly Trent with the beautiful hair tells me, "It's still going to be at least an hour. What about trying the Jane Lanes? They're coed, and they're having their auditions in the campus center." Oy vey...I barely had the nerve to do one audition and now she wants me to do three? And the Jane Lanes are at least a half mile away on the other side of campus! Well, if the alternative is sitting on a dorm floor with a bunch of strangers for an hour...I set out to find the Jane Lanes.

Like the Trents, the Jane Lanes have a friendly, pretty girl with great hair registering auditionees. She and I start talking and we hit it off right away. She tells me that in addition to singing for the group when I go in for my audition, I will also have to tell the group my favorite flavor of ice cream and my favorite joke. What?? I tell her I can do that, but I don't want to offend anyone -- I have a pretty raunchy favorite joke. She breaks into a big grin and says, "OH GOOD! Tell it to me!" I tell her the joke and she laughs like crazy and says, "That's awesome! They'll love it!" And indeed they do. They also love the sarcastic Tom Lehrer song I choose for my solo. I really like the Jane Lanes; clearly, I won't have to hide my personality around them. The Jane Lanes are also the only group that tests me on sight-reading (which I think I got right), which makes me think that they must be pretty serious musicians.

I go back to my dorm and FINALLY audition for the Trents, who all dress and act just as polished and poised as the gorgeous-hair girl I met before; it's a little intimidating. They run a tight ship, though, moving all the auditionees through the process in a friendly but efficient way...the opposite of the Quinns.

I go upstairs to my room practically shaking with relief because I gave it a shot, and it's over at last. Since this was the last of four nights of preliminary auditions, the first-round callback lists will go up tomorrow morning. I decide that I will be satisfied with my performance if one of the three groups calls me back; that would mean, to me, that I wasn't making a fool of myself by trying. I figure that if one does, it will probably be the Jane Lanes, since they asked me to sight read, and I could.

Oh wait...I forgot all about The Mikado! And the other shows! I call my family and shriek into the phone that I'm so excited about starting rehearsals. I don't even tell them about the other auditions. After all, I've already surpassed my guppy goals in the big Bromwell pond and become a carp...it's no big deal that I won't get a chance to be a dolphin. Yeah, I'll just be a happy carp. That's the ticket.

So how come I have trouble falling asleep, thinking of those callback lists tomorrow?
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[Low C Sharp]

Sheesh, did I write that much?

Anyway, if you're tone-deaf, you don't get in, although some groups have higher standards than others. But non-singers have their own social groups. For example, housing groups have a very fraternity-like role, too: you stay with your housing group for 3 or 4 years, it has its own dining room and library and academic counseling system, it sponsors formals and football tailgates, etc. It's not like singing is the only scene in town, just a very visible one.

KSUViolet, yes, there are auditions, but they're run a lot like rush, and at one campus they are even called rush. Each group has a culture as well as a sound. In fact, it can be heartbreaking for the groups to cut people they love and who would fit in perfectly from a social standpoint, but aren't the best vocal fit. It'll be more clear in future installments (which hopefully won't be that long!)
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[Senusret I]

This is a really cool story! I'm looking forward to it.... my school had an a cappella system, and yes, each group had their own personality.... you know, come to think of it, yes, my schools groups might as well have had "rush" too.

Our groups were The Chimes, the Phantoms, GraceNotes, and Superfood. For about four years there was a black group called Essence, but it faded out. There may have been more, but I can't remember them.

From what I recall, The Chimes numbered their initiates much like NIC fraternities might. But their "induction" was staggered instead of being like a pledge class. Superfood gave their new members nicknames.

I was such a Superfood groupie....

[FSUZeta]

i love daria-i bought the dvds from some bootleg outfit in canada(they appeared legitimate, but i did get the dvds!)

this is facinating!

[Low C Sharp]

In the morning, I went to the campus center to see the callback lists. I checked Jane Lane first...and there I was! And the Quinns...yes! Now the Trents...OMG! I can't believe it, I got called back to all three! I actually touch my name on the last list to make sure it's really me. I'll be going to the Quinns at 6 pm, the Trents at 8, and the Jane Lanes at 10.

At dinner, I decide to talk as little as possible in order to save my voice. My dormmates ask why I'm not talking, and when I tell them, the whole table is blown away by the fact that the Trents called me back. "Wow, you must be REALLY good! They are the best. They have a NAME!" I figure the Trents must be pretty amazing if just getting a first-round callback impresses people this much. Getting way ahead of myself, I start to wonder what I'll do if I get into both the Trents and Jane Lanes; do I have the guts to turn down this kind of campus prestige for a group I'm pretty sure I like more?

The Quinn callback is pretty unimpressive. They perform a song that auditionees will have to learn and then sing in harmony, but their voices are average. All their sheet music was handwritten and Xeroxed, not printed. I find out that one of the unfriendly girls from the registration table is the director, and she's an alto, so when the auditionees split into parts to learn the arrangement, she is teaching my part. The Quinn altos sing their part for us to listen to, and the second time they demonstrate it, I start humming along (muscle memory helps with memorization). Unfriendly Director stops the demonstration in the middle of a measure and snaps at me, "Quinns only, please!" Right then and there, I was like, screw this group...I'm just killing time here until I get to the Trents.

The Trent audition was seriously intimidating. They have called back over forty people, and instead of learning background harmony, each auditionee will sing a Trent solo in front of the whole crowd with a quartet of Trents singing backup and the remaining Trents taking notes. They perform the song for us first, and they blow the Quinns away; they're in whole different league. The power, the confidence, the polish -- they sound like professionals. For over an hour, I listen to auditionee after auditionee sing the song; a lot of the altos are mediocre, but some of them are awesome, and my nerves just build and build. I finally get my turn at the very end of the audition, and I am solid on the first 3/4 of the song, but when it's time for the last phrase, my mind turns blank for a second, I panic, and it takes me a moment to find my pitch. At that very moment, I meet a Trent's eyes and I can literally see the change in her face when she hears me scoop onto the right pitch and get back on track. Her face goes, "Mm HM!" and she makes an X in her notes, and I figure that it's all over with the Trents.

I finish the night with the Jane Lanes. Right away it's clear they've put a lot of effort into planning this: they have printed nametags with their logo for each of us, and the sheet music is printed. They demonstrate the song we will learn background on, and they're really good and funny. You can tell they have terrific chemistry together. The alto section leader is the registration girl who liked my joke, and she's a cheerful and patient teacher. At one point when we're taking a break, some Jane Lanes spontaneously burst into song, and I start humming harmony without realizing it. One of the cute basses overhears me and asks if I know that arrangement from high school. Worried, I say, no, I was just making it up, and he gives me a big smile and says "That's amazing! You sound great!" MAN, what a nice change of pace from the Quinns. Despite my nerves, I have such a good time that I'm sorry when the audition ends.

That night, I'm asleep around 1 a.m. when the phone rings. It's the Quinns, who are calling to say that I will not be called back in the morning. Um, OK. WTF would you wake me up to tell me that? Did they really think that I was lying awake, biting my nails with terror because I might not make it to the next round with the Quinns? Whatever...good riddance. Tomorrow morning I'll find out about the groups I actually want to join...
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[Faith4Keep]

Ooooh I'm excited to hear if they call you back, and if they both do, which one you chose!

I can't believe the Quinns called you to say that you wouldn't be called back. Who does that? Wouldn't you just look at the list and know? I guess they were trying to save you the "embarrasement".

[FSUZeta]

i think that the quinns are just plain evil and that is why they called her at 1 a.m.

i can't begin to imagine how nervous you were-i am on pins and needles for you, and i know that it is after the fact!

[Low C Sharp]

It is traditional at this point in a rush thread to mention that later on in college, I met a lot of terrific people who were members of [insert snobby/loser/party hearty sorority here], and in my case it's really true. The Quinn classes that were a year or two younger than me included some wonderful people who became good friends, and they also attracted some phenomenal singers. But the people in my graduating class...yeah, not a good fit.
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[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

It is traditional at this point in a rush thread to mention that later on in college, I met a lot of terrific people who were members of [insert snobby/loser/party hearty sorority here], and in my case it's really true. The Quinn classes that were a year or two younger than me included some wonderful people who became good friends, and they also attracted some phenomenal singers. But the people in my graduating class...yeah, not a good fit.

Low C Sharp, you've mastered the art of the rush thread!