A taste of a cappella
Wesleyan Argus- March 07, 2001 
by Kristin Lehner, Arts Editor

Who’s Who in the World of Wesleyan A Cappella The Wesleyan Spirits "The only all male singing group on campus."

Charles Ullman ’01, Joe Lampe ’01, Elijah Carroll ’01, Ned Williams ’02, Paul Kim ’02, John Graham ’02, Ari Wolfe ’03, Jared Noble ’03, Peter Wilson-Topin ’03, Sam Morrison ’03, Pete      Harvey ’03, Wes Pederson ’04, Steve Morgan ’04. 

Charlie North ‘82 founded the Spirits in 1981. They perform all kinds of music — everything from contemporary pop, like King of Pain and songs from Ben Folds Five, to Latin madrigals, to old jazzy stuff and folk stuff. "We also perform originals, too!" said Ari Wolfe ’01. Indeed they do. At last Thursday’s United Way Benefit Concert they performed two original pieces. The first, "America" by John Graham, opened their performance on an upbeat, damn-the-Man note. Charles Ullman wrote the second, "Every time I see you, you’re talking about monkeys." They have three CDs out now, "Food and Spirits" recorded in 1993, "House" recorded with Tufts Beelzebubs in 1994, and "Espiritus" recorded in 1996. They recorded another
CD this year, but would not release the name. In other words, it’s a surprise. "I think we have a different style. We don’t really limit ourselves to a specific genre. I like to think that our music just speaks for itself. Basically, we’re a bunch of guys that really love to sing," Wolfe said.

When college students of yesteryear thought of Wesleyan University, they thought "Ahhhhh . . . The Singing College of New England." This instant recognition changed in the 1960s (those tumultuous years) and a cappella ceased to be a big part of Wesleyan’s campus life. In the past 20 years, however, a cappella at Wesleyan has been on the rise. Groups have come and gone over these years. Green Eggs and Jam and The Gracenotes, an a cappella group devoted to singing Christian music that was started in 1998, has since fallen on hard times.
There are seven groups, however, that appear to be here to stay. Now what makes each different from the next? Apparently this is a touchy subject for many a cappella group members. Acapella members said time and time again that each group has its own different style and that there is no underground animosity between groups. Unlike Eclectic and Alpha Delt, the a cappella groups on campus DO NOT want a rivalry. Decide for yourself (in no particular order, that’s a promise).

The Cardinal Sinners "the oldest all-women a cappella group on campus"

Lauren Singerman ’01, Margot Bassett ’01, Sophia Koulomzin ’02, Sarah Woodruff-Diaz ‘01/’02, Yi-Lo Yu ’03, Stephanie Jones ’03, Melissa Schoenberg ’03, Sarah Kavanagh ’04, Robbin     Friedman ’04, Laura Vickers ’04, Megan Lamb ’04, Mariah Klaneski ‘04

The Cardinal Sinners’ aim is to keep working on an eclectic mix of songs from all genres. They experiment with all different types of music. At the United Way Benefit Concert they
opened with Sweet Honey in the Rock’s "No Mirrors," went on to sing a song from the Buena Vista Social Club, and continued with Fiona Apple’s "Paper Bag." 

"We have a very tight sound. [Also,] as well as wanting to be fun for the audience, we are also concerned about the musicality of our pieces," said Lauren Singerman ’01. 

Quasimodal "Wesleyan’s oldest and undoubtedly coolest coed a cappella group" (according to the announcement at the
United Way Benefit Concert)

Heather Harelik ’01, Alynn Cassidy ’01, Owen Panetteiri ’01, Josh Walker ’01, Colin Gershon ’01, Jed Rosenbaum ’02, Eric Morgenstein ’03, Zoe Levy ’03, Bryne Sewll ’04, David Bloom
‘04

Quasimodal, another of Wesleyan’s co-ed a cappella groups, was founded "around 1980, but don’t quote me on that," said Heather Harelik ’01. They focus on pop songs and rock songs   alike. At the United Way Benefit Concert, they jumped out onto the stage singing a lively rendition of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants and ended with a version of Queen’s "Bohemian Rhapsody" that broke them out of the traditional a cappella semi-circle formation. When asked what distinguishes Quasimodal from other a cappella groups, Harelik was hesitant. 

"I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging in the Argus. I don’t really want to say. Co-ed a cappella is a very different sound. We are very similar to the New Group," she said. 

The New Group "The only a cappella group that has performed under the pseudonym ‘The New York Mets.""

Flo Anito ’01, Jaron Argiz ’01, Avi Stopper ’01, Aaron Frank ’01, Jill Green "the taskmaster" ’02, Aileen Payumo ’02, Ricky Singer 3/16 ’02, Chris Watters ’03, Christie Kim ’04, Eliza      Kahn-Simon ’04, Blloyd "one name wonder" ’04, Ana Weinstein ’04

The New Group is one of four co-ed a cappella groups on campus. "The history of the New Group goes back to the Middle Ages when we were ... it’s not a new group — probably about  ten or fifteen years old," said Avi Stopper ’01. They sing primarily cheesy pop, and according to Stopper, "the cheesier the better." At last Thursday’s United Way Benefit Concert they   were dressed down and singing their perennial favorite "I Want A Girlfriend." They sing not only for the unadulterated sexiness and fun of it — they are renowned around campus fortheir sex appeal — but also just to have a good time. When asked what distinguishes the New Group from the other a cappella groups on campus, Stopper responded quickly. "There’s   really no difference. Everyone’s just kinda screwing around," he said. No animosity. So it goes.

Vocal Debauchery "the new group on campus"

Alex Brown ’03, Michael Supple ’03, Kylie Sullivan ’03, Michael Feinstein ’03, Stewart Sherman ’03, David Wein ’04, Caroline Lyddy ’04, Selina Ellis ’04, Phillipe Gosselin ’04, Minter Kim
’04, Arlie Christian ’04, Zoe Goldberg ‘04

Vocal Debauchery, started this fall by Michael Feinstein ’03 and Kylie Sullivan ’03, is "trying to bring something new to the a cappella world," according to Feinstein. They have not had a performance, but are trying to go for a variety of music styles. Though they have not incorporated every genre just yet, they are currently working on a reggae song and a salsaish song. "I feel that we’ll try to have a relationship with the audience — get them involved so that everyone has fun instead of just hears music, Feinstein said. "I hope to have a different sound than the other groups, so we’re not just another group. I mean that in a completely middle of the road way. I mean, not antagonistic."

Onomatopoeia "the casual, laid back group"

Corey Block ’01, Ellen Tuzzolo ’01, Yoonsun Han ’02, Olivia Weisser ’02, Amy Greenwood ’03, Kate Johns ’03, Kristin Small ’04, Nomita Ramchandani ’04, Meeghan Ward ’04, Saori
Imaizumi ’04, Mandy Westlake ’04

Onomatopoeia is about community. "We don’t really set goals," said Olivia Weisser ’02. "We all work together, so we don’t get as much done. We just like to sing and hang out." Onomatopoeia sings a lot off campus and would like to begin singing more on campus. They sing mostly pop songs from the 70s and the 80s. "We don’t sing Sarah McLachlan,"   Weisser said. "We’re kind of known as the more laid back group," Weisser said on defining Onomatopoeia’s distinguishing characteristic. 

The Mazeltones "Wesleyan’s only Jewish a cappella group""

Darcie Shapiro ’01, Elizabeth Stein ’01, Ray Kuo ’01, Rachel Feinstein ’01, Matt Pasternack ’02, Rachel Morris ’03, Kerrith Soloman ’03, Andrea Wilson ’03, Caitlin Spear ’03, Sadie
Kahn-Greene ’03, Evan Kultangwatana ’04, Eli Staub ‘04

The Mazeltones is a co-ed Jewish a cappella group founded in the fall of 1997 and is currently made up of seven Jews and five non-Jews. They sing most of their songs in Hebrew, though they will be looking to add Yiddish and Ladino music to their repertoire in the future. "Our main thing is to sing Jewish music by trying to bring in a diversity of Jewish music from different time periods," said Darcie Shapiro ’01. Right now, they maintain a relaxed atmosphere by singing songs such as Madonna’s "Like a Prayer," but in Hebrew, and "In the Still Friday Night" to the tune of "In the Still of the Night."

"It’s fun watching people’s faces in the audience. We get a kick out of that," Shapiro said.