This past Sunday, April 6, 2025, three of Union’s acapella groups, The Dutch Pipers, The Eliphalets, and The Garnettes, performed at Thruway, an annual competition among local acapella groups. This year’s competition saw The Dutch Pipers emerge as the overall winners for their spectacular performance.
Union’s three acapella groups competed against five others from Skidmore and the University at Albany. Ticket sales benefitted CHIME from the Empire State Youth Orchestra, an after-school music program. The organization has 13 orchestras and a choir and serves students from the Capital region. Etienne Abelin, the Music Director and Conductor of the Empire State Youth Orchestra, judged the competition this year.
Union’s acapella groups spent months preparing for this year’s Thruway. “There’s a lot of different things we do to prepare. Obviously, we have to learn the music, but then we also have rehearsals where we’re focusing more on dynamics and making the songs interesting and fun,” Sophia Pegolo ’26, co-president of The Garnettes and member of The Eliphalets, said. “On the organizational side, there’s a lot of learning how to communicate with proctors and the other groups and ensure everybody’s on top of everything.”
All of Union’s acapella groups are student-led, and several students arranged pieces and had solo singing performances. Matt Parr ’25, Becky Perkins ’26, Annie Cavalluzzi ’27, Brian Rusk ’25, and Spencer Newman ’25 arranged pieces, and Cavalluzzi, Perkins, Adrianna Miles ’28, Walter Kraus ’25, Kirin Lennon ’26, and Maddy Pilkington ’27 also had solos.
The groups performed covers and renditions of popular songs to captivate the audience. “We had been practicing The Night We Met by Lord Huron in the fall, and we learned our other two songs coming back in the winter term, which were Coincidence by Sabrina Carpenter and Eat Your Young by Hozier,” Parr, President of The Eliphalets, remarked. “I helped arrange Eat Your Young, and it definitely was one of the hardest pieces but also the most rewarding.”
The groups also performed songs from other artists, such as Blame It on the Boogie by the Jackson 5 and W.I.T.C.H. by Devon Cole. The winning Dutch Pipers performed remixes of Sh-Boom (Life Could Be Dream) by the Chords and Barbershop Medley.
Union’s acapella groups emerged victorious at night’s end, winning several awards. The Dutch Pipers won the award for best stage performance and overall performance. They performed remixes of Sh-Boom (Life Could Be Dream) by the Chords and the ” Barbershop Medley. Perkins and the Garnettes won awards for best song and student arrangement for W.I.T.C.H.
“Wow! The only word that comes to mind is ‘proud’. I’m so proud of every single member of my group. They all put in all of the work they had. They gave their everything, and it paid off this time,” Brian Rusk ’25, president of The Dutch Pipers, said.
The event ended on a high note for all three acapella groups, and participants and audience members are already looking forward to next year’s Thruway Concert.
