Although all their music might not be original, Penn State's a cappella group's creative ar-rangements and performances add innovation to familiar songs.

For the first and only time this semester, all seven of these a cappella groups will come together for a joint performance.

From Christian to pop to doo-wop, the Sampler at 10 p.m. Friday in Alumni Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center will feature Penn State a cappella from across the board. Among the groups performing are Savoir Faire and Dreamers.

Savoir Faire

Despite the cold and crowds of a home football game weekend, a cluster of friends and fans have gathered to hear the women from Savoir Faire do what they love -- sing.

These short performances in front of the Student Book Store (SBS), 330 E. College Ave., are the way the women normally share their work. After auditioning new members, the group works on arranging new songs. One person works on changing the instruments and sounds into parts for each person to sing.

"You have to write it down and print it out as sheet music," Kara Hurvitz (sophomore-English) said. Arranging a song takes a lot of time and practice. Hurvitz, who is still learning, has been working on arranging one song for three weeks and hasn't finished.

Alaina Scalercio (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies), who spoke with enthusiasm for Savoir Faire's future, said the only thing this 5-year-old a cappella group lacks is a focus.

"We used to have more of a theme," Scalercio said. "All the founders graduated as of last year, and we're trying to find it for ourselves."

Hurvitz had a similar opinion and said she wishes the group would do more humorous pieces.

"It's harder for girls to be funny," Hurtviz said. "If you're actually doing a funny song, you have to work on the performance of it."

Scalercio also liked the idea.

"I still think girls can pull it off," she said.

The one thing that isn't stopping them is money.

"It's the only organization I'm in that has an abundance of money," Scalercio said. The group is paid for many of its performances, such as the one at SBS.

They are also looking into new uniforms.

"Last year we had these truly heinous blue shirts," said Hurtviz. "They only looked good on the person that picked them out." With new shirts and plenty of ideas and passion, the group is moving into the semester with hopes of performing whenever they can.

Dreamers

The Dreamers of Phi Mu Alpha have shown what some long-term effort can do.

The group performed two songs at Baby's Burgers & Shakes, 131 S. Garner St., in 1989 and swore that it would be its only gig, its Web site (http://www.clubs.psu.edu/sinfonia/dreamers/) said. Thirteen years and many gigs later, the group has chiseled a spot as Penn State's only male a cappella group.

"From what I've gathered we've been around the longest," Jeff Freeman (senior-computer science) said. The men are
best known for their Singing Valentines each February. For three days straight, the group sings for a different person every 15 minutes from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m.

"We get in suits and bring a long-stem rose," said Freeman. "That's our big thing most people would recognize us by."

This singing marathon has brought the group a reputation on campus. Freeman said that most people say, "Hey, it's the singing guys" when they hear about the Dreamers.

Dreamers is the only a cappella group to have released its own CD, having put one out a year and a half ago. "We're slowly working on a new one," Freeman said.

The CD features one original song, though Freeman said they tend to stick to performing other people's songs.

"For the most part, we tend to do what other people know," Freeman said. "We're there for the entertainment value."

Harmony

One man is trying to pull these diverse groups who all share a love for singing together.

Roger Tharp, a Penn State graduate who sang with Grace Notes while he was a student, started the Web site titled "Harmony" (http://dogwood.cas.psu.edu/harmony/) six years ago.

"Harmony is supposed to be kind of a portal for Penn State a cappella in general," he said.

Although Tharp says the a cappella following at Penn State is a normal size, he wishes more people would come out to see the performances. "We as an a cappella community don't get much [publicity]," Tharp said. "I'd like to have more people come to the concerts."