The annual VoiceJam A Cappella Competition on April 5 brings the best a cappella groups from across the country to compete at Walton Arts Center. We asked each of the six competitors a few questions to learn more about them! Get to know three of these competitors: Final Measure, Decibelles and Remedy.
Missed the first installment of this blog? Check it out here!
Tickets to The Edge Effect concert and the VoiceJam Competition are on sale now. Purchase a combo ticket for just $29 and you can see both shows. Tickets are available online at waltonartscenter.org, by visiting the Walton Arts Center Box Office weekdays 10 am–2 pm or by calling the box office at 479.443.5600 weekdays 10 am-5 pm.
Final Measure – University of Houston
What kind of music do you enjoy singing together/what is in your repertoire?
We like to sing primarily pop music! Our group sound is very bright and energetic, so it fits us pretty well. Right now, our repertoire consists of some electronic, some pop and indie songs.
Does your group work with precisely notated music, or do you improvise?
Most of our music is notated. This year we’ve done a lot of custom arrangements as well as pieces from an array of different arrangers.
How did you come up with the name for your group? What is the story behind it?
Final Measure was originally named something else actually! But after our first in-person year, we decided to change it up and we took suggestions from all of our current members. This name was born out of the combination of a couple different options, and it stuck!
Do you have any pre-show rituals or warm-ups? If so, what are they?
On all our trips, we usually love to watch Pitch Perfect as our sort of good luck charm! We also have a pre-show ritual that consists of vocal and breath warmup, as well as an energizing chant we do while dancing around. It helps all of us to get hyped to be on stage and connect with each other before we perform!
What songs, artists or genres of music are you currently listening to on your personal playlists – give us your top 5?
Some artists that our members love to listen to right now are Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyonce and Bruno Mars.
What does your group like to do in their free time?
Since the group is composed of a lot of different majors, we all have a variety of hobbies like crochet, playing instruments, reading and baking! After rehearsal though, we enjoy going out to eat, cooking together or playing games like Minecraft.
Decibelles – Southside High School
What kind of music do you enjoy singing together/what is in your repertoire?
We enjoy singing music from multiple genres, but the main style of music that inspired our group to start was barbershop! We really enjoy working through tight harmonies and our first song was a barbershop arrangement of "Dream a Little Dream of Me." We've been dipping more into the vocal jazz pool a lot lately as well!
Does your group work with precisely notated music, or do you improvise?
Our group works with precisely noted music. Our group formed around choir - that’s how we all met. We’ve bonded and grown closer together over our love of choir and shared songs that have personally touched us. We hope to share this love and passion with others.
How did you come up with the name for your group? What is the story behind it?
Our name is a fun play on words! We took the word decibel, which is a way of measuring sound, and replaced the “bel” with belles! It’s super fun and girly, just like the music we like to sing! People often pronounce it as Decibel is pronounced, but our name is actually pronounced dec-ee-bell!
Do you have any pre-show rituals or warm-ups? If so, what are they?
Before performances, we like traditional choir room warm-ups like warming up our body first by doing exercises like shoulder rolls, tongue stretches, rolling our head gently, etc. Then sometimes we throw on a good 10-minute Jacob’s Vocal Academy (or sometimes a Cheryl Porter) warm-up from YouTube. We are choir kids at heart!
What songs, artists or genres of music are you currently listening to on your personal playlists – give us your top 5?
Personally, I have currently been listening to a lot of Laufey, Faye Webster, Daniel Caesar, Omar Apollo, Chet Baker and a lot of classic vocal jazz albums and bossa nova. I find it helpful to consume old and new interpretations of jazz, preparing my voice and mind to bring color to every song we perform.
What does your group like to do in your free time?
A lot of us are involved in extracurriculars like class council, student council, theater, choir and more. We love doing Bible studies, going out to get coffee and just being with each other and creating more of a family feeling.
Remedy – Argyle High School
What kind of music do you enjoy singing together/what is in your repertoire?
We like to sing pop songs! But we will pretty much sing anything. We love to sing together every day and learn new harmonies.
Does your group work with precisely notated music, or do you improvise?
Our group primarily sticks with notated music, and we learn our music by listening to tracks and reading sheet music. Members of the group are also given the liberty to improvise on certain parts - our bass is known to add extra notes or sound effects.
How did you come up with the name for your group? What is the story behind it?
The name Remedy was inspired by the song “Remedy” by Adele. We believe that music can be someone's remedy.
Do you have any pre-show rituals or warm-ups? If so, what are they?
Before every performance as a group, we pray. It’s a good way to calm the nerves and give thanks to the Lord before we go perform.
What songs, artists or genres of music are you currently listening to on your personal playlists – give us your top 5?
My top artist is currently Ben Platt. In order after that is punk/rock songs from the Killers, blink-182, Weezer and Nirvana.
What does your group like to do in your free time?
We like to eat together at Braum's after performances and play volleyball or go to the mall as a group!
VoiceJam Festival Schedule
VoiceJam Kickoff Concert – The Edge Effect
Friday, April 4 | 7:30 pm
All tickets are $10
VoiceJam Workshops
Saturday, April 5 | 9 am – 5 pm
VoiceJam Competition
Saturday, April 5 | 7:30 pm
Tickets are $27
One Day Choir
Sunday, April 6 | 10 am – noon
Free! Click here to sign up
