Groups bring a cappella to University audience

This weekend, a cappella music comes to the University in various forms.

A Cappellafest, a celebration of a cappella music, will be held this weekend. The Contemporary A Cappella Society of America and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia are collaborating to present the festival.

According to Shawn Pearce, a spokesperson for the festival, the festival was brought here to inform students about a cappella music, which is made up solely of vocals.

"We wanted to jump-start interest in a cappella at Penn State," he said.

Pearce said two main events should be of interest to the general public.

At 11 p.m. tonight in 111 Forum there will be an a cappella late night concert. Sean Altman, formerly of the group Rockapella, which appeared on the television show "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" will headline tonight's concert. Tickets will be available at the door and admission is free to all students with a Penn State I.D. The cost for nonstudents is $3.

The second event will include some of the best collegiate groups in the nation, Pearce said.

"We wanted to bring in national acts and provide an incredible weekend of music," he said.

At 8 p.m. tomorrow the Mid-Atlantic region semi-final round of the college a cappella championships will be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 109 McAllister Way. This competition is between more than 100 of the best college groups in the nation. Eight of them, including one from Penn State, will compete here, Pearce said. The Dreamers of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, Penn State chapter, will take part in the program.

From this competition, the winners will go on to the finals at Carnegie Music Hall in New York City. Tickets will also be available to the door costing $10 for nonstudents; this event is also free to students with an I.D.

Jordan Ullman, business manager of the Dreamers, said they will be competing against some of the best groups in the Northeast, including groups from schools such as Notre Dame and Boston College.

"We've been practicing really hard and we look to make a good showing," he said. "All of the groups are really talented."

Throughout the weekend, seminars on different aspects of a cappella music will be presented for those who pre-registered for the festival.

Pearce said many people are misinformed on the different forms a cappella music can take.

"Nowadays (a cappella) can provide anything from rock to grunge to rap," he said. "Modern a cappella style is emulating the sounds and styles of instruments using the human voice. A lot of people view it as barber shop- or Boyz II Men-style music, although those are perfectly valid forms, there is a much broader view."