Singing in Style at UConn

Hi everyone, Tyler here!

So if you are like most people, you probably sing in the shower, in your car, or when you are home alone, right? Of course we all do it, but there are a select group of people at UConn who meet up every week and sing together for the soul purpose of making amazing music. They are an alliance of talented musicians and dedicated friends who work together to create something wonderful. Something fun. Something awe-inspiring. That is UConn a cappella.

Singing at the Dance Company performance in the Jorgensen!

So there are eight different a cappella groups at UConn, with two female groups, two male groups, and four co-ed groups. Together they form the University of Connecticut A Cappella Association. The a cappella groups at UConn pride themselves in being cohesive, friendly alliances instead of competitive opponents. Together, we all work towards creating an environment of collaboration. This is evidently seen during our Rush Concert, an a cappella fest at the beginning of each semester where all the groups perform a couple songs in one big concert. The Rush Concert is for students who are interested in singing and joining a cappella to get an idea of about which groups they would like to audition.

Celebrating graduation with Tasha and Pat!

So my freshman year, I auditioned and was accepted to The Rolling Tones. Corny name, right? However, the music we made over the course of my first year was miraculous. Our group meets seven hours every week, arranging our own music, practicing, and getting ready for upcoming performances. Oh boy did we have performances! It seemed as though every week we had gigs, whether they were at functions around campus or traveling to other colleges in New England to perform with other groups. We even performed at the Commencement ceremonies for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in front of 20,000 people! I very soon gained comfort when performing in front of large crowds.

Chilling after our performance at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

From being part of The Rolling Tones, I also gained something even more important to me: a family. My fellow members are my closest friends at UConn, and knowing that I will always have their friendship and support means so much to me. We have all been through so much together, from traveling to spending a ridiculous amount of time together. I’ve been to yoga, had classes, and even took an eight hour trip up to Maine, all with friends I made in my a cappella group. And although eight of our members graduated this past year, I am eager to run the audition process and accept new people into my a cappella family.

Singing at UConn is certainly a unique experience. It was the best decision I could have made, and I am looking forward to three more years of successful performances, amazing friends, and awesome music!