By Whitney Downard
Contributing Writer
Did the movie “Pitch Perfect” leave you wanting to join an a cappella group? Look no further. This year, students will have an opportunity to join the group The Reprise and perform with other a cappella singers in the Buffalo area.
The Reprise is a multi-generational group open to anyone who wishes to join, including faculty or alumni. Students at Bonaventure will have to commute from St. Bonaventure campus to the Hilbert campus in Buffalo for rehearsals and performances. Because Bonacoustics is no longer active on campus, The Reprise will allow students to perform in a challenging musical setting without having to incorporate other musical instruments.
“A cappella is a wonderful format,” said Karen M. Wieland, professor of graduate literacy education and campus liaison for The Reprise. “A cappella provides a musical challenge. It’s an intellectual workout. (The Reprise) will bring more music-making to campus, and singing opportunities are no longer limited.”
Sophomore education major Brianna Wilson said she’s excited about having a new opportunity to sing in a group.
“I’ve been singing in selective choirs since sixth grade,” Wilson said. “I have always found a cappella to be one of the most amazing things to be a part of. I enjoy (a cappella) because it means we have to work much harder to sing together, be on pitch and sound as one.”
The Reprise will perform a variety of music, including classical, folk, jazz, pop and musical theater. However, the group’s musical variety is currently limited because it hasn’t added any vocal percussion to its repertoire. In the future, The Reprise hopes to add more variety by introducing vocal percussion aspects used by more popular a cappella groups like Pentatonix and Straight No Chaser.
According to Wilson, mixing students with alumni and faculty has the potential to be a fantastic opportunity.
“It’s a wonderful experience to collaborate with those of different vocal abilities,” Wilson said. “You learn to work with each other, to help each other and then learn from each other.”
Students interested in joining The Reprise should contact Wieland for more information.
With the addition of this a cappella group on campus, The Reprise should give us all something more to sing about this upcoming year.
