If you’ve made it to this page, then you’re looking for inspiration: maybe you want to get started in a cappella but you’re not sure how, maybe you don’t know if it’s for you, or maybe you know you love it but you don’t think you have the right skills or experience.
Well, we’ve interviewed some of our lovely UK A Cappella Society community members to find out how they got started in a cappella and why they love it.
If you’re hoping to be inspired, then look no further!
Rachel Xuereb, The Bristol Suspensions
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“I went to watch the uni society spring show and I was amazed at the talent. I honestly couldn’t fathom how a group of people could make such an awesome sound with just their voices!”
Describe how you felt after your first a cappella performance.
“It was exhilarating, the energy of the a cappella community is second to none. Having friends, old and new so eager to support was such a lovely welcome to the community.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“Teamwork. A cappella requires everyone to work together to create a great sound; it’s synchronicity to the max and you make great friends along the way.”
Calum, Absolute Harmony
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“The A Cappella group were always the highlight of concerts at my high school, but entry was for senior students only, which made it something to really aspire to for younger singers. I remember their rendition of "My Girl" and it was that same song I had to sing in my audition four years later. There wasn't a space for me that time, but I made it the next year!”
Describe how you felt after your first a cappella performance.
“Awesome. Accomplished. Aca-amazing. It felt like we'd achieved something really impressive together, building a full harmonious performance with just voices. There's something even more magical about making music without any instruments to hide behind!”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“A Cappella has made me a much better singer and musician - it's where I learned to really understand harmony, follow sheet music and listen to how I blend with the group. It also gave me my chance to be a musical director, arrange and compose, creating new opportunities for me and others.”
Seb Watts, Academy
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“I did it in the old style, Chapel choir at school, just without the organ and realised how powerful just voices are by themselves. I loved feeling someone else's note inside my chest while I sing my own.”
Describe how you felt after your first a cappella performance.
“I felt vulnerable straight after because it's a raw experience with only your friends' voices to hide behind but then I felt really connected to my group and the audience when they started cheering. Instruments are great but nothing is the same as a cappella.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“An amazing group of amazingly fun and unique friends!”
Rob Steel, The Songsmiths
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“My first experience of a cappella singing was performing Mozart's Requiem with my local youth choir in school - I remember being in awe that just a few voices singing together could produce such amazing sounds, and ever since then I've been drawn to vocal music. Joining The Songsmiths at uni took it to the next step and led me to become a complete contemporary a cappella nerd!”
Describe how you felt after your first a cappella performance.
“I felt in awe but also a deep sense of belonging within a community - there's nothing like contributing such a personal instrument as your voice to a musical performance to really create a bond between people.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“A second family - walking into an a cappella gig or a competition anywhere always feels like a reunion, regardless of how many people you know there already. A cappella has such a way of bringing people together over a shared passion, something that even a global pandemic can't stop!”
Will O’Reilly, The Techtonics
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“I joined a cappella half way through a medical degree. I had sung with choirs, but wanted something more upbeat. And I absolutely loved it - the percussive beat ox driving us forward while a killer soloist soars over rhythmic locking chords. There was no experience quite like it”
Describe how you felt about your first a cappella performance.
“Exciting and hugely terrifying - the opportunity to perform with no accompaniment safety net, to roaring crowds (or just a couple of street watchers). Such a thrill.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“Performance skills and organisation skills are far more important than people realise - because of my a cappella experience, I have no trouble talking to large bodies of people at work, and feel confident projecting and improvising if something goes wrong.
Equally, the opportunity to organise, negotiate and work collaboratively with 14 other very talented and opinionated people has been invaluable in boosting my career since.
And I also made a tonne of friends! “
David Green, Naked Voices & Original Sing & Vox Office
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“In 2003, having returned to community singing after an 18 year gap, I got a phone call from the leader of Naked Voices inviting me to join. I had seen NV perform and it had reduced me to a lump of wobbly emotional jelly - the emotions of the performance were so powerful, I was exhausted. When I got in, it was to replace a leaver and had to hit the ground at a sprint. I had 6 weeks to learn 18 songs, all of which were 5-10 voices and complex, before hitting the Edinburgh Festival for a 9 day run. We were the first amateur group to have a show there. We sang our hearts out and came back with an Edinburgh Fringe Sell Out Show award. I had had no idea that anything like that would, or even could happen.”
Describe how you felt after your first a cappella performance.
“It was such a buzz. Naked Voices concentrated on the power of performance over perfection. It was all about taking the audience on an emotional roller coaster ride, leaving many in tears by the end of the show. I felt awed to be part of it and supported in my inexperience by a bunch of fabulous people, most of whom are my friends to this day, 18 years later.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“A deep connection to other people on a non-verbal visceral level. There is something about singing that brings people together in the most profound way. I sang with people with whom I might otherwise have had little in common. But when you sing, with emotion together, you get to see a hidden part of each other, something normally deep and private. Its beautiful and a privilege. And that binds friends together for a lifetime.”
Melanie Colman, A Cappella Relative & Fan
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“I am/have not been part of a group myself, but I am a very passionate follower of UK collegiate a Cappella after my son joined Aquapella in 2016. My first experience of a Capella was being in the audience of the ICCA Semi-Finals in Wimbledon in 2017.”
Describe how you felt after seeing your first a cappella performance.
“I was totally elated as it was announced that Aquapella were off to Broadway! I was also so totally amazed at the level of talent in the competition and the support and friendship shown between all the performers was truly inspiring.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“The sense of community not just from the singers but also the families of singers, it is such an inclusive and encouraging thing to be part of - I’m proud of you all!”
Gemma Davies, Co-Founder of UKACS
Tell us about your first a cappella experience
“I first encountered a cappella through watching Glee! But my first personal experience of a cappella was at university, when a friend from barbershop asked me to audition for a new modern a cappella group he was setting up. This later turned out to be The Bristol Suspensions and the rest is history!”
Describe how you felt after seeing your first a cappella performance.
“After our first performance, it sounds cheesy, but I felt that I had really found where I belonged. My legs were still shaking from performing in front of people but I couldn't have been more proud of us all in that moment! We felt like underdogs, as around 14 out of 17 of us had never sung modern a cappella before, and we were all learning together how it all worked, and it meant that the success of pulling off our first performance was made that much sweeter! Having gone from being so shy about singing that I only ever mimed in choir to singing a solo to an unknown audience, I felt like a new person.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve gained from being involved in a cappella?
“I've gained a sense of confidence in my own skills, a community of wonderful lifelong friends, and a set of people that feel like 'my people'.”
As you can see, a cappella singers can get their start in very different places - whether that’s in a school choir, singing in their rooms, making videos on YouTube, or from seeing a cappella in action and feeling inspired to join!
A cappella is one of the most inclusive art forms you can take part in, as it requires no previous experience, there are no a cappella qualifications, and there are groups to suit every level, whether you’d like to reach competition standard or just sing with your friends once a week.
So if you’re wondering whether a cappella is for you (or whether you’re right for a cappella), then the answer is yes!
Check out the rest of the UKACS website and join us!
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