Exonians Perform at Annual A Cappella Showcase

By SAM ALTMAN, JILLIAN CHENG, JUNE KOH, and LILY RAMPE

On Friday, Oct. 18th, Exeter’s a cappella groups put on a showcase performance during Family Weekend. Despite having little time to prepare, the concert attracted a large crowd and ended up being a great success.

Many groups performed with a variety of songs, as senior and Ké Kontan cohead Roy Liu mentioned: “I performed in three of the four groups that performed: Ké Kontan, The Exeteras, and PEADQUACs. Sans Hommes also went, but the only other group on campus, In Essence, didn’t perform that night.”

Liu continued, “Exeteras performed the classic ‘For The Longest Time’ by Billy Joel, Ké Kontan performed ‘Lovely’ by Billie Eilish, PEADS performed ‘Valerie,’ and Sans performed ‘Put Your Records On.’”

Overall, the singers were proud of their performance, even though this concert can sometimes be difficult every year. “I feel like the concert went very well,” senior Ben Soriano reflected. “The groups I participated in spent extra time preparing leading up to the showcase and that extra preparation really showed. This date for a performance is historically difficult to prepare for since it comes so soon after initial auditions and callbacks. However, the energy and individual skill of the groups was the strongest out of the last few Parents’ Weekend acapella showcases.”

Liu echoed this sentiment, saying, “The showcase, because it is so early in the term, is often a bit rushed. You can definitely feel the time crunch. But I’m really happy with the progress that we made, even if the performances of the groups I’m in could’ve been a little better.”

“Because of the early date for this performance, many groups required additional meetings to prepare,” Soriano said. “In addition to building confidence and preparation for the performed pieces, these extra meetings helped create synergy within the groups. Onstage, this helped groups stay together rhythmically and blend into each other vocally. I believe that the chemistry between members of the groups was felt from the audience as well which led to a more energetic and engaging showcase.”

Prep Juliana Tavarez, a member of PEADS, agreed. “Everybody was contributing their own part as a person in the A Cappella community.”

While being one of the performers in PEADS, lower Shiloh Ffrench still said that “it was really interesting and fun to hear everybody sing. You could really hear all the talent in all the singers.”

About his expectations going into the concern, Liu commented, “I was pretty nervous because of all of the parents in the audience, but something Mr. Richards told me when I was in his show lower fall that he really helped me with it—to channel nervous energy into performance energy. That’s something that I always stick to, and it’s been a very helpful piece of advice.” 

Upper Cecily Reed noted how her group—Sans Hommes—was also nervous going into it. “I remember our last rehearsal before was pretty awful. Our cohead Hemani was very worried because she has put a lot of effort and time into training us and she has a stunning voice herself. But the second we got on that stage, were introduced, and heard our tones, we kind of just closed our eyes and got into the singing zone.”

Some singers and spectators also had specific moments that they enjoyed the most.“A highlight for me was the last solo of Exeteras’s rendition of “For the Longest Time” by Billy Joel. In past rehearsals, Simon (the lead singer for that solo) had noted that the higher notes were a little out of his vocal range. Tag teaming with Max during the performance allowed all the notes to be hit and created a fun feeling of comradery on stage. Singing concerts have a tendency to feel serious and stiff, but rather, this moment set a fun tone for the rest of the night,” Soriano said.

“Well I’m biased, because I am cohead of Ké Kontan, but I thought we did well. ‘Put Your Records On’ was also impressive and it was different from the rest of the songs though,” Liu mentioned.

“My favorite group was Sans Hommes,” upper Lucia Rosen said. “The atmosphere was also very supportive.”

Senior Meredith Habstritt agreed that Sans was her favorite, also stating, “The room was electric.”

While the room was abuzz with families, the pressure made it stressful for some and thrilling for others. “It was very exciting. There was a lovely ambiance in the air as you walked in. A lot of parents were there and I think a lot of people brought their friends and their friends’ parents, so it was a full house. As each group went up to perform, you could see how they got along with their dynamic as a group and how they supported each other when one of them went to do a solo,” Reed described.

Reed went on to describe how their success came in part due to the comradery one can find in singing. “I think that singing is a wonderful way to show emotion, because you’re putting yourself in a very vulnerable place,” she said. “And when you sing in a group, you have to blend voices, and therefore emotions, with someone, and it’s just a different feeling to be out on stage as opposed to practicing.”

The atmosphere of the room helped French confidently express herself on stage: “I was a little nervous at first to perform my solo in ‘Valerie.’”

She continued, “But then as soon as I got up there, it was just fun. I wasn’t thinking about the nerves or what people would think about me. I was just letting it out.”

The audience helped many of the singers feel comfortable and relaxed. However, as the concert occurred after the prep and lower check-in that night, Tavarez mentioned that many of her friends could not make it. “I asked one of my friends to come and she asked her dorm faculty. She said it wasn’t that easy and she had to email the dean,” Tavarez said. This prevented many of her friends from supporting her at the concert. 

Looking forward to the future, there are many events the a cappella groups are excited for. “It was definitely a strong basis for how we’re going to move forward into this year. We’re very excited about our assembly later on,” Liu mentioned.

  “We have a really big concert in the spring that we’re extremely excited for and we’ve already started planning for that.”

As the night concluded, the a cappella showcase left their audiences in awe. They were able to share the gift of music with their fellow peers as well as the visiting parents. A highlight of Family Weekend, this night will become a cherished memory for many students, parents, and music lovers.