Princeton High School boasts an array of four student-run a cappella groups. They are Around Eight, the only co-ed group, two all-female groups The Cat’s Meow and Cloud Nine, and one all-male
By Gina Hsu
Princeton High School boasts an array of four student-run a cappella groups. They are Around Eight, the only co-ed group, two all-female groups The Cat’s Meow and Cloud Nine, and one all-male group, The Testostertones.
A cappella groups have soared in popularity in the past few decades on high school and college campuses nationwide. They perform renditions of music from different genres without the use of instrumental backing. At PHS, the groups regularly perform during the school year at school and community events and private gigs. During the first week of June, they will be selecting new members to join their ranks.
As all four groups are completely student-run, the audition process is too. Auditions are held after school and each group holds them on the same days, making it easier for those who audition to try out for more than one. A typical audition consists of singing a short, 30-second segment of a song and some groups also have auditioners sing scales or sight-read.
After the initial auditions, callbacks are held.
”At callbacks, we teach a song to the auditioners and then we put random girls together to see how well they blend in a group,” said Zoe Resnick ‘14, a member of Cloud Nine. “We’re looking for people who stick out in terms of skill, can blend well, and have a good group dynamic.”
Though four groups is a large number for most high schools, competition is still tough for those seeking a spot in an a cappella group, most of which have around a dozen members and spots that are open each year are determined by the number of seniors graduating.
”About 80 or so people ended up auditioning for Cloud Nine [last year],” said member Jade Levine ‘15. Being the only non-choir-affiliated female group, many who are not involved in the choir program choose to audition for Cloud Nine. The same applies for the Testostertones, the male non-choir-affiliated group, whereas the two others require those auditioning to be a part of the PHS Choir, which has its own audition process a few weeks earlier.
Current members said auditions are an exciting time for the groups.
”My favorite part about the auditions is getting to spend so much time with [the other members of Cat’s Meow],” said Liv Rand ‘13. “It’s one of the last things we get to do together [before graduation].”
For Teo Fleming ‘14, the best part of auditions week is singing in the new members.
”We go to the new member’s houses and sing to them to welcome them to the group,” he said. His least favorite part is “calling the people who didn’t get in.”
”The amount of stress I see on girls’ faces when they walk into an audition is the worst part,” said Rand. “There’s really no reason to stress or be nervous since every group is excited to hear new voices. It’s a wonderful experience to be a part of and I think anyone who chooses not to audition is missing out.”
Gina Hsu is a junior at Princeton High School.