On April 8th at Proctor’s Theater, Union College hosted its annual Thru-way A capella competition, a celebration and competition between local A capella groups. The three Union A capella groups are The Garnettes, The Dutch Pipers, and The Eliphalets. The Eliphalets were founded in 2007 and are a co-ed A capella group. The competition for this year was against The Girls Next Door, and The Golden Notes from The College of Saint Rose, as well as The Rennselyrics from RPI.
For the past two years, this competition has been a fundraiser to support ESYO (Empire State Symphony Youth Orchestra’s) CHIME, a group dedicated to addressing inequities in universal access to music education in Schenectady.
Going into the event, the Acapella groups faced some challenges; several members of multiple groups had gotten sick, according to Chloe Metcalfe ‘23 and Thomas Raimo ‘24, the Music Director of The Dutch Pipers, and the President of The Eliphalets. “We weren’t sure if we were physically all going to be able to make it through the event, but we did it! It was really unfortunate timing to have multiple members sick, but we were still excited nevertheless.” Chloe Metcalfe ’23 said.
Students came to the event to support one another as well. “I’m here to support all of the groups,” Caitlyn Boice ‘23, an attendee, said. “I don’t really feel like I have much of a preference [in terms of who wins], I’m just here for my friends.”
Singers also expressed why they joined their respective A capella groups. “I’ve been singing my whole life, and I did A capella in high school so I thought it would be fun to join in college,” Matthew Parr ‘25, a member from The Eliphalets said. “Freshman year, I went club hunting (it’s something that I recommend every single freshman do) and I found A capella, and I was on a whim and thought ‘I’ll throw it in and audition to The Eliphalets.’” Thomas Raimo ‘24 said.
For this competition, each group initially sang three songs. The Dutch Pipers sang “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic! At the Disco, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, and “Pompeii” by Bastille. The Dutch Pipers were founded in 1953 and are Union’s oldest A capella group. The Eliphalets sang “Adele Melody” by Adele, “Not Over You” by Gavin Degraw, “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, and “Electric Love” by Garret Borns. The Garnettes sang “You Go Down Smooth” by Lake Street Drive, “Slipping Through My Fingers” by ABBA, “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, and “Britney Spears Melody” by Britney Spears. The Garnettes were founded in 1986 and are Union’s only all-women A capella group.
After the three songs, the judges of the competition then chose 3 groups, The Garnettes, The Rennselyrics, and The Girls Next Door, to move onto the final round and sing one song each. In addition, Chloe Metcalfe ‘23 won the “Best Conductor” award as the conductor of The Eliphalets, and Lily Wainwright ‘23 won “Best Soloist with a High Register.” In the end, The Rennselyrics won first place in the competition, and The Garnettes won second.
“Honestly, I think both The Eliphalets and The Dutch Pipers… we put in more work to that competition than I think the performances let on, and I think we had a lot more to show this year, so I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t entirely get to do that… but I am happy for The Garnettes who got second.” Thomas Raimo ‘24 continued.
All three of these A capella groups, who are student run, hold auditions at the beginning of each academic year, and meet several times per week. Students may also join Union’s Choir Ensemble and Chamber Singers Ensemble, run by the music department, and may also receive academic credit.
This article was originally published in the print edition of Concordiensis on April 13, 2023.