A Cappella Rush

[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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