Acapella groups are no longer just a bunch of Ivy League guys in sweater vests snapping their fingers to “My Girl.” UCLA’s Bruin Harmony has shown not only that acapella groups can be modern, but also that they can be multifaceted. At the Los Angeles Acapella Festival on Saturday, collegiate acapella performers will come together for a day-long event followed by an evening concert to celebrate vocal arts.
Organized by Bruin Harmony, the festival will offer interactive workshops, classes and professional panels. Meanwhile, the evening concert will open with a performance by Bruin Harmony, followed with other performances by acapella groups from all over California. Other performers include the Los Angeles-based Vybration and The House Jacks, a rock acapella group from San Francisco. Tickets are available for purchase through the Central Ticket Office.
Bruin Harmony music director Ross Morey, a fifth-year music student, has seen the project go from concept to creation as the executive director for the event.
“I think part of why we wanted to get this festival off the ground is it really makes you feel a hub for acapella music within the Southern California community,” Morey said.
While acapella is a large tradition on East Coast campuses, it is less prominent in West Coast collegiate culture. Morey said collegiate acapella singers have a lot to gain from the festival, especially considering there are new members every year. Collegiate groups such as Bruin Harmony tend to have a large turnover in leadership and membership, whereas professional groups usually have less turnover and are at an entirely different level.
“In addition to seeing Bruin Harmony grow over the last three years, I’ve also watched the entire UCLA acapella community grow, and I think that this is a real milestone for everybody who does acapella at UCLA,” Morey said.
Bruin Harmony president Luke Campbell, a third-year Design | Media Arts student, also sees opportunity for the growth of the art.
“I think the best part of this festival is that it is increasing awareness for acapella groups, and we just hope to share that art with not only the UCLA campus, but people from Los Angeles and all over California,” Campbell said.
The festival will offer vocalists the opportunity to engage in workshops, network with top industry professionals, and participate in educational classes. Panel topics will range from the music business and acapella recording to songwriting and vocal percussion techniques.
“I think it’s more about the possibility of what acapella can be,” Campbell said. “It’s a great opportunity for college students on the West Coast to see that there are a lot of doors and opportunities in the vocal arts and acapella.”
Since its formation in 2006, Bruin Harmony has participated in Spring Sing, Battle of the Bands, the California Acapella Festival and several other events. For many of the members of Bruin Harmony, participating and winning in the acapella category at Spring Sing has been the highlight of their experience in the group.
“The most memorable moments are the ones that nobody else shares, because we’ll be in rehearsal and have a moment where everything comes together,” Morey said. “And those are the moments that make me want to always have singing in my life.”
Jackson McNeill, a fourth-year philosophy student and Bruin Harmony’s co-publicity chair and social chair, said he was excited to be a part of a group that had grown so much.
For McNeill and the other members of Bruin Harmony, the evening concert will showcase their efforts as well as demonstrate what acapella is all about.
“The evening concert is kind of like the cherry on top ““ it’s everyone’s reward for putting in a long day,” McNeill said.
“We’re going to bring something new to the table I’m pretty sure no one on campus has experienced,” Campbell added. “It should be a really unique show for everyone, definitely something the majority of the campus hasn’t seen.”
Not only will this the first time UCLA’s Bruin Harmony has hosted the event, but it will also be the first time an acapella festival of this size has taken place on the West Coast.
“We hope to spread the love for the music and make connections among different groups in California, and hopefully have it be an event for years to come,” Campbell said.