Practicing her solo in front of the mirror, Natalie Moyce constantly prepares for the 10th annual California A Cappella Festival in hopes that on stage she does not look as nervous as she feels.
Random Voices, the a cappella group that Moyce, a third-year global studies student, is part of, will host CAF this Saturday.
Padmini Cheruvu, CAF manager and fourth-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, has been involved with CAF for three years and said that the festival is a way for a cappella groups and people interested in music to network and build relationships with each other.
Being the first and only California festival where a cappella groups come together to sing, the festival will showcase 13 groups from college campuses throughout California.
Groups from Cal State Northridge, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego will be in attendance.
Of the 13 groups, six are from UCLA: Random Voices, Bruin Harmony, Medleys a Cappella, Naya Zamaana, ScatterTones and Signature A Cappella.
The festival will feature both day and night shows consisting of different performances from the groups. All of the groups will perform at both shows but will sing a different set of songs.
According to Moyce, Random Voices’ business director, the group is still deciding which songs it will perform.
Current contenders include “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine, “Speechless” by Lady Gaga and “Love Like This” by Natasha Bedingfield.
Yen Luu, CAF assistant manager and second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said that it is difficult to determine what they will sing during their 12-minute set list on Saturday because of the many songs the group has rehearsed over the course of the year.
“Ultimately, we don’t want to sing the same songs all of the time,” Luu said.
“We’ll do mainstream songs, but we are very diverse ““ we’ll cover rap songs and rock songs, so sometimes it depends on our mood.”
Last year’s festival concluded the day performance with all of the groups coming together and performing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” something Cheruvu said they hope to do again this year at both the day and night shows.
Although Lennon’s “Imagine” represents a popular choice for a cappella groups to cover, Luu says that CAF is an opportunity for people to learn about other styles that a cappella groups have.
“It’s a good way for people who aren’t familiar with a cappella to see it for the first time. They get to see the different spins and mashups groups do with certain songs they never thought would go together,” Luu said.
Luu said past mashups have included a collection of Destiny’s Child songs that, despite having different rhythms, the group meshes seamlessly.
Along with these performances, the event will include opportunities and activities for the groups to network and get to know one another during the hours in between shows.
Moyce said that the festival will build upon part of the group’s mission statement to promote inter-a cappella relations.
“(A cappella) can cover a broad range of styles. We do our research about other groups coming to CAF, and it’s always fun to see how people will cover songs,” Moyce said. “It’s really cool when they incorporate choreography.”
Within the past few years, the rise in popularity of shows like “Glee” and “The Sing Off” have brought more attention to a cappella and groups that have a love for singing. For Cheruvu, the attention the shows have brought helps her get pumped for the festival.
“(Shows) have made a cappella more popular, and the audience does kind of know what to expect. They come out and watch because they enjoy it too,” Cheruvu said.