CASA - The Contemporary A Capella Society

Out of the Blue (OOTB) has been making a-cappella popular in England for just over 7 years now... It all started with a certain Mr Derek Smith. Joining Oxford University in 2000, his decision to conjure up an all-male a-cappella group from mostly thin air (with a few wannabe pop stars...) has proved to be a turning point in the history of Oxford music. Come October 2001, and it was time for OOTB to be brought up to full complement - the arrival of Jason, Wes, Josh, Seb (jnr!) and Ben took the group to 14 members and full size. That year proved to be the breakthrough - reputation increased and the word spread quickly - this was the group to see. Bill Clinton agreed at a private performance... One trip to the Pacific North-West of America, several balls around the country (including the renowned Trinity Ball - Cambridge), and one studio album (Unexpected) later, the group had, in two short years, made its mark unforgettably on Oxford's music lovers. With OOTB going from strength to strength with each year, and 2005's group reaching commercial heights surpassing previous years, there was big pressure to choose a new group of guys to follow in the footsteps of all those years before, and with only Ben and Haz in a position to stay on, the future looked bleak for OOTB. Luckily October saw an awesome turn-out for auditions with over 120 guys vying for the 11 spaces! And from here, OOTB '06 was born. The new talent came in the form of Harry S, Deep, Stefan, Cal, Phil, Mark, Joe, Jonathan, Terry, Will and returning member Ben B. The group was set and under Haz and Ben's leadership first term saw them take off become properly initiated into the ways of OOTB. Over the Christmas holidays the group was invited up to perform at the world-famous Gleneagles hotel outside Edinburgh the night before New Year's Eve which provided a truly memorable night of unexpected luxury! Unfortunately it was in January that we had to see Stefan leave to pursue his studies, but this paved the way for returning member Rich who was more than capable of filling the space in the crucial half-way point of the year. Hilary term also saw the ICCAs in which we were ranked 2nd in Europe! In addition, we were also awarded for our breakthrough developments in choreography! Following our success at the competition we were primed and raring to go, and the Easter holidays saw a fantastic 2 and a half week tour to the East Coast of America as we ploughed our way through the likes of Mayland, Washingston Dc, New Rochelle, New Jersey, New York, Ithaca, Boston, Yale and Philadelphia singing for schools and guesting with acappella groups from colleges all over America.