Correction: The original version of this article contained an error. Yen Luu is the California A Capella Festival manager.
Since the explosion of music-themed shows like “Glee” and “Smash,” a cappella has been thrust into the spotlight and portrayed as an overly competitive and demanding activity. Even though UCLA’s a cappella groups have performed in their fair share of competitions, they still manage to keep a friendly relationship with their competitors.
Random Voices, one of UCLA’s all-female a cappella groups, will host its 11th annual California A Cappella Festival, where a cappella groups from all over California will show off their singing skills from belting to beatboxing.
The festival will include performances by 13 a cappella groups from UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego and UC Davis, which are all performing songs from a variety of music genres and styles that vary from barbershop to popular music.
The day will include two concerts, one in the morning and one in the evening. The California A Cappella Festival is not a competition but an invitation for people with an interest in a cappella to share their passion, said Yen Luu, a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student and California A Capella Festival manager
Luu said the day is really about bonding rather than who performs best. Groups spend the entire day interacting with each other, eating breakfast and lunch, singing, and learning about the similarities and differences between each group.
The festival’s program will feature a wide variety of arrangements of songs such as “Under the Bridge” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “We Are Young” by Fun. and “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes.
“This year we are performing a dubstep remix of “Titanium” (by David Guetta), where we have an amazing beatboxer. We also have a song by Ingrid Michaelson … and Adele,” said Vivian Byeon, a second-year psychology student and music director of Random Voices.
According to Byeon, with shows like “Glee,” “Smash” and “American Idol” becoming more popular, a cappella and show choir singing has received much more attention.
According to Monica Manrique, a third-year biology student and business director for Random Voices, group members and spectators alike have the chance to collaborate with each other and meet new people with similar interests.
“There are two aspects to (the concert) ““ there is the performance aspect and the interaction aspect. I think the interaction aspect is the most important. … (It’s) what makes groups want to come to (the festival) and perform with us, … getting to hang out with one another and learn from each other,” said Natalie Moyce, a fourth-year global studies student and member of Random Voices.
Moyce also said the mingling is what draws so many groups from all over California to the festival.
“We interact a lot with the groups (at UCLA), but we rarely get the chance to interact with groups from other schools. It’s an intercollegiate experience,” Moyce said.
According to Luu, many of the groups that come down for the festival also invite UCLA a cappella groups to performances and competitions in return.
“We are really strong on having an a cappella community. … We don’t have competition between each other because it’s all fun and games. … It’s important to keep (a cappella) as a support system,” Luu said.