Olivia Cipperman ’19: Bella Voce, EA’s girl acappella group, has been celebrating the tradition of acappella music since Fall of 2014. Their diverse song selections range from modern pop songs to more traditional acappella selections. Acappella means that the song performances are entirely vocal, using the human voice as the striking centerpiece as well as a substitute for instruments. Acappella has been on an upswing over the past few years, growing through the internet, television, and even the acappella application from the apple store. According to an article on Art.Mic, “the web allows for the rapid spread of ideas, technique, and music.” The growing recognition of acappella can be seen by Pentatonix, an acappella group that gets millions of hits on Youtube and performed at the 2016 Grammys with Stevie Wonder.
Photo Courtesy of Nellie Konopka ‘16.
Music Department Chair and Choral Director Jim Erwin explained, “Bella Voce is an EA student directed girls acappella group.” According to group leader Kelly Flynn ‘17, the group meets weekly and performs “some pop music that everyone will know and get excited about, but we also want to do things that are a little more classical.” Her co-leader, Helena Bryant ‘17, added, “We try to do the best to suit the group of people we have, and the types of voices. We wanted to start off simpler. The Adele medley was a little difficult, but Mr. Erwin helped us to make it easier.” Under the leadership of Flynn and Bryant, Elom Vedomey ‘19 said, “It’s been a joy to work with upperclassmen who have been doing this longer than we have and who are teaching us new things.” Emma Humann ‘19 agreed with the social and musical benefits of the group, stating her enjoyment of working with “other girls who also like the music.” Humann added, “The harmonies we make are really beautiful.”
Although Bella Voce does not perform very often, the group is gaining traction as a club and musical group at Episcopal. Their most recent performance was at Open Mic night on Friday, February 26th. According to Erwin, “They had a stellar performance at open mic last Friday, where they not only showcased their fantastic singing ability but also displayed a lot of sass performing an Adele remix of ‘Rumor Has It.’” Flynn explained, “We also performed at ArtsFest [last year]… So we’re maybe going to try to do that this year. We’ve also talked about trying to do a chapel performance, but there are no chapel dates available this year, so we might try to do that next year.”
While acappella is an old style of singing, it is currently on the rise as testified by the emergence of Bella Voce. The group gives students an opportunity to express their creativity in an unique and tight-knit group. Erwin concluded by saying, “I look forward to more from this talented group of upper schoolers.”