Movin' On is just around the corner, but if you're the type of person who just can't wait to kick off the weekend's fun-filled festivities, a Penn State a cappella group wants to help you out.
At 8 tonight in 121 Sparks, None of the Above (NOTA), Penn State's longest-lived a cappella group, will perform its final hurrah of the semester for free.
"It's the last concert for a lot of us, so we really run the gamut," member Lauren Kenny (senior-communication sciences and disorders) said.
Kenny was very enthusiastic about the concert and said the crowd will definitely be pleased. "My favorite song that we do is 'I Wish' by Stevie Wonder, since it's such a crowd pleaser," Kenny said. "The older crowd loves it because it's a classic and the younger crowd loves it because it has the same bass line as [Will Smith's] 'Wild Wild West.' "
Lindsay Ghramm (freshman-biomedical engineering) said she also loves the Stevie Wonder hit. "Everyone can clap to it and it just has a lot of energy," Ghramm said.
This concert also has a special appeal, as the group finally has its first CD for sale.
"It's strange that this is only our first CD, since NOTA's been around since '91, but we're still really excited about it," NOTA president Chris Gibbons (senior-history and religious studies) said.
Gibbons has been with the group since his freshman year.
"Chris is an amazing composer and usually arranges most of our songs that we do," Kenny said.
The most recent arrangements are The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" and Ace of Base's "The Sign," which will both be sung tonight.
" 'The Sign' is just a great classic '90s song," Gibbons said.
The arrangement is the hardest part, Kenny said. "You really have to listen to the song. If it has too many special effects or over-lapping, then we can't to it," Kenny said.
But even after the song is arranged, the group still has to learn it.
"We always practice in Willard," Gibbons said. "It's a long-standing tradition."
The group doesn't practice with sheet music, however, because every song is learned by memorization. "It usually takes us two nights to learn a song, but sometimes one if we're really focused," Gibbons said.
This process is sometimes harder for newcomers than for the returning singers.
"When I first joined NOTA, it took me a little while before I learned all the lingo of the group," Ghramm said. "But after that, it was great and I love the experience."
The 14-member group is very close, Gibbons said, and many will be missed when they graduate this semester.
"We'll have tryouts this fall for anyone that likes to sing," Gibbons said.
But for now, the group is focused on tonight's concert.
"Our friends know what to expect, but I think the newcomers will be surprised," Gibbons said.

