A Cappella
You may have seen flyers around campus advertising shows from organizations such as Broad Street Line, Low Key, Jewkebox, Singchronize, Owlcappella or Pitch, Please. You acknowledge the catchiness of these student org names, but have no idea what they do.
A cappella is a very unique style of music that involves only voices and no instruments. It can include imitating instruments and percussion, clapping, stomping, tapping or pretty much any type of noise that doesn’t require an instrument.
Temple is home to six a cappella groups, each one possessing its own style and flair. Owlcappella usually performs cool and calm indie music, whereas Singchronize does sassy and fun pop music. Each of the groups is also categorized. Broad Street Line is all male, Singchronize is all female, Low Key is a co-ed show choir, Owlcappella is co-ed, Jewkebox is affiliated with the Temple Jewish community and Pitch, Please is LGBTQ affiliated. The diversity in the TUAC community allows each a cappella group to bring something unique to the table.
Members of TUAC groups don’t just enjoy being able to express their artistry. They also cherish the relationships with their fellow singers.
Jewkebox director Hannah Stevens is a junior at Temple majoring in music education and minoring in Spanish. She is passionate about Temple’s a cappella community.
“My favorite thing about TUAC is the community we’ve created,” Stevens said. “It’s always growing and changing, but we’re always there
for each other.”
On the first Thursday of every month, all the groups get together at the Alumni Circle to share performances. The atmosphere of these serenades is full of love from the TUAC groups.
Senior education major Tresier Mihalik transferred to Temple in 2014 and immediately knew she wanted to get involved with a cappella.
“A cappella fosters the outlet to be creative and imaginative,” said Mihalik, who auditioned and got accepted to Low Key in the fall of 2014. “Low Key is like a second family to me.”
Many students in a cappella groups feel as though their group is a home where they can truly be themselves.
“When you join an a cappella group, you are instantly enveloped with support and have 20 plus new friends on your side,” said Holleigh Christie, president of Jewkebox. “I fell in love with 20 people in 20 different ways, and that love has changed everything about my Temple experience.”
Written by Lauren Waksman
Photographed by Sarah Whitehead
