ptonkatz10

Hey all! I don't go on CC a whole lot but I know there are a lot of freshmen interested in being in an a cappella group. Here's some information:

Tiger's Roar, 11pm-12:30 am, Sept 9 (Richardson Auditorium)-- this is a concert of all the singing groups on campus. all the groups do their best stuff here-- don't miss it!

Archsings-- 10pm-12am featuring each of the eight "arch rotation" groups in 15 min slots. Sept 12 in Blair Arch, Sept 13 in 1879 arch, Sept 14 in Blair.

Each group will also have an open house and auditions-- I know our open house (Katzenjammers) is Sept 15 from 11pm-1am in the Katzenroom (063 Bloomberg) and I fully expect to see you all there!

That said (and my bias exposed) here are the websites for the arch rotation groups. A lot of them have clips on their websites-- listen, but be sure to come to the frosh week archsings!

Coed-
Katzenjammers: www.princeton.edu/~pukatz
Roaring 20: www.princeton.edu/~roaring
Shere Khan: http://www.princeton.edu/~sherkhan/

Female-
Tigerlilies: http://www.princeton.edu/~tigerlil
Tigressions: http://www.princeton.edu/~tigress
Wildcats: http://www.princeton.edu/~wildcats

Male-
Nassoons: http://www.princeton.edu/~nassoons
Tigertones: http://www.princeton.edu/~tones
Footnotes: http://www.princeton.edu/~footnote

There are also a few other groups-- mostly religious or specialty groups.
Kindred Spirit (Christian a cappella): http://www.princeton.edu/~kspirit
Koleinu (Jewish a cappella): http://www.princeton.edu/~koleinu
Firehazards (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender): http://www.princeton.edu/~hazards
Princeton University Gospel Ensemble (PUGE): http://www.princeton.edu/~puge

There's also a group called Culturally Yours, which I'm pretty sure is defunct, and a new group called Old Nassoul which was founded last spring and doesn't yet have a website . . . not sure what their plans are for next year.

Anybody with questions about a cappella (the katz specifically, but i can answer other questions too), feel free to pm me or reply to this thread. I know there are a lot of cc-ers involved in a cappella who would be glad to answer questions.

Sorry for the long post!

justkidding

i am definitely interested in co-ed a cappella. i have a few questions about it just so i am informed when i get on campus, since the auditions come up pretty quickly.

how difficult is it to make an a cappella group as a freshman? i.e. approximately what percentage of people who audition make it?

what is the time committment per week for a typical a cappella group? would it be overwhelming for a first semester frosh?

how does the audition and callbacks process work?

glinda

Hello justkidding! I'm a member of the Katz too, and I'm so glad you're interested in a cappella!

Like most of the selective groups on campus, a cappella groups are competitive. I haven't personally gone through auditions as a member of the group, as I joined last spring, but someone told me last year that up to 80 or so people can audition for a particular group at a time. Of those, about one in ten will get called back, and then any number can be taken. There is no quota, you are judged solely on your musical ability. If we like you, we'll take you. And you'll have the opportunity to re-audition if you don't make it in the first time. It took me and four other members of my group two auditions to get in.

The time committment varies from group to group, but is generally about 7-8 hours a week, plus performances. It's a lot, but most people see this as a plus, as the people and the music are addictive (at least to me). I've found that having a rehearsal schedule actually helps me get work done because I'm less likely to procrastinate. And you still have time to be involved in other things. Our members sing with the glee club, perform in plays, are RCAs, etc.

Each group also has a different audition, but they generally consist of some warm-up scales, swells, pitch-matching, and a solo. Some also have a brief sight-reading exercise. The night of your audition, a member of the group will come to your room to tell you whether you've been called back or not. For more specific information, check each group's website (listed above).

Hope I've answered your questions. If you think of any more, please don't be afraid to ask. I hope to see you at our open house in a few weeks!

rhapsodie3025

I'm definitely interested in a cappella as well...I was in my HS group, and am excited about trying to continue. Here's my question: are the tours that happen during breaks mandatory? If I had a conflict, or just found I really wanted to go home instead, would that be allowed? I understand that the commitment for these groups is serious, so I'm a bit worried about that.

mzhang23

Usually people don't opt to go home over going on a tour. A cappella groups are small, so every voice part may be needed on a tour. It's rare that people have the option of jumping out. It would depend on the individual group and also the tour itself (most of which involve extensive planning and financial commitment of group money).

ptonkatz10

justkidding-- check out the faqs section on the home page of the Katzenjammers (the link is a little hidden; read the welcome announcement to the class of 2011 and you'll find it). Hopefully that'll address most of your concerns.

rhapsodie3025-- normally tours are really fun and I think you'll find that you want to go with your group rather than go home. There are special extenuating circumstances though-- last year I went on a trip to Yellowstone with my freshman seminar rather than go on the spring tour because I felt the class was giving me a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; I'd have three more years of touring with my group. mzhang is right though that any absence affects the performance of the group-- you need a really, really good excuse to skip touring. but seriously-- a cappella is the way to see the world, no kidding. most tours go to really awesome places.

glinda

For those of you on campus who are still looking at this site, come to Tiger's Roar!!!

Tonight at 11 in Richardson auditorium. You'll get to hear all of the singing groups on campus. Hope to see you there!

neqou

Heheh -- who are you, mystery Katzenjammer? I'm a former Tigerlily [quit for OBVIOUS reasons, you know what I'm talking about].

Way to rep the a-cap. You forgot to mention how strict you all are in auditions But, a quality group to be certain.