A Cappella Assembly
Exeter’s five different a cappella groups showcased their musical talent through a selection of classic hits, original mash-ups and skilled solos during assembly last Friday.
The a cappella Showcase opened with a “Home” mash-up performed by one of Exeter’s all-female singing group, In Essence. The mash-up combined “Home” by Phillip Phillips and “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, producing a catchy remix of the two songs. In preparation for the assembly, In Essence held hour-long practices two or three times a week. Their co-head, senior Megan Smith, felt that these lengthy rehearsals had paid off. “We all think [the] assembly went pretty well,” she said.
Following the “Home” mash-up, the PEADQUACS (PEADS) sang a mashup of Michael Jackson songs arranged by senior Tommy Song. PEADS, established in the early 1950s, is both the longest running and only co-ed a cappella group on campus. The Fermatas, another female a capella group, then performed the Katy Perry hit “Waking Up in Vegas.”
Exeteras, the all-male ensemble, took the stage next singing “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers, featuring Reverend Robert Thompson as a soloist. Thompson’s entrance received a large applause from the crowd. Upper and co-head Cory Mengden felt that Thompson’s solo “made the song great.” He explained that “One of the main focuses we always have is what songs will please the audience, and everybody responded well to hearing Rev’s booming voice.”
“Rev is such a lovely person with an incredible voice, and we’re so lucky to have him here.”
The assembly closed with a rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” in a joint performance by the Exeteras and Sans Hommes, another all-female a cappella group. The two singing groups collaborated to learn an eight-part harmony of the original song, arranged by upper Marichi Gupta. Overall, the assembly was cited by most as a success.
For Mengden, this was the first a cappella collaboration he has been a part of during his three years at Exeter. He felt that the audience responded well to the Exeteras, “especially because of the song choice.” However, the group’s strong performance came with weeks of preparation, especially for their collaboration with Sans Hommes.
Postgraduate Tommy Mobley, a member of the Exeteras, enjoyed this process of working with Thompson for “Lean on Me” and with Sans Hommes for “Somebody to Love.” Mobley admitted that “Somebody to Love” was “tough to learn” because of its eight-part harmonies, but said “We did the song justice when we performed it.”
Indeed, most of the performers considered the assembly a success and were proud of their fellow singers. Upper Peter Chinburg, who rehearsed with PEADS for a total of two hours each week and with Exeteras for almost four hours, saw their hard work come to fruition during the performances. “I think the Assembly went really well,” he said. Senior Madison Hillyard, one of the co-heads of Fermatas, agreed that the performances were impressive. “We have a great group with many great singers. It was a nice end of the year,” she said.
Upper Grant Cammock thought the audience’s energy reflected the success of the event. “There was a lot of energy, and I think people enjoyed the assembly,” he said. Mobley echoed this sentiment, recognizing that “Every group performed at their best, and every group performed songs that were fun to sing and listen to.” He went on to describe it as a “a truly special experience.”
Preps Ben Abbatiello and Maxx Murray both loved the assembly. While Abbatiello listed In Essence’s performance as his favorite part, Murray found “Lean on Me” to be the highlight. He added that the last song, “Somebody to Love”, was amazing as well. Lower Gabby Gabel echoed their praise. “I thought the singing was really beautiful,” she said.
Lower Molly Canfield described the a cappella assembly as a great opportunity to showcase the different singing talents on campus. She noted the community’s dedication and willingness to share music with others. Canfield also appreciated the “entertaining and fun” nature of this assembly compared to other assemblies, explaining, “Generally, I do really enjoy assembly, but sometimes I am too tired to be able to focus on them.”
Canfield was impressed by the performance of “Lean on Me”, especially due to its fitting nature for this time in the term. “Rev is such a lovely person with an incredible voice, and we’re so lucky to have him here,” she said. “These couple of weeks have been hard for everyone, and it’s been really important to have friends to lean on.”