I got to be a judge at one of the shows in the National Championship of High School A Cappella on Saturday. It was pretty cool. My friend Mark is the main organizer for the competition, and he was short a judge for this show.
I was dubious at first about high school a cappella in general, given the amount of truly bad a cappella I’ve heard in my life. This show amazed me for the uniformly high quality of the groups. I understand that they were pre-screened with audition tapes, but still it was impressive. Maybe there’s some benefit to having a music director with a background in music.
The groups ranged from five members to 20, and from vocal jazz and doo-wop to the vocal band styles that I used to do.
The very best part about the show was the energy and enthusiasm of the singers. They seemed to be doing this because they genuinely like the art form. It sort of inspired me to get back in gear and find a musical outlet in my current life.
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