Garth Kravits (House Jacks), Megan Estey, Wes Carroll (House Jacks / All About Buford), & the writer
photo by unknown
The House Jacks in performance at the VT Summit
photo by Ross Leung
We started off our weekend on Friday night with the Vermont Collegiate A Cappella Alumni Show, inviting back alumni from the University of Vermont's Top Cats, Cat's Meow, and Hit Paws and the St Michael's College Sleepless Knights. The numbers that were rehearsed in advance went very well, and we even managed an on-the-spot encore presentation: all of the singers sharing the stage for a rendition of Boyz II Men's "Thank You". The four co-producers of the Summit were alumni of the four collegiate groups, so as luck would have it, we each enjoyed a few minutes on stage -- a rare treat for organizers.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, we had 75 people at the workshops! Traditional seminars became anything but when presented by the experts: Deke Sharon on Arranging, for example, and Wes Carroll on Beginning and Advanced Percussion. Many of the participants were high school students, attending the workshops in preparation for the Summit's closing event: the Vermont-New Hampshire-Maine Competition of The National Championship of High School A Cappella. From the beginning, one of our goals has been to bring master teachers to Vermont students. I knew that had we succeeded wildly that day as I watched the high school singers soaking up new knowledge, and I couldn't wait for those students to see the professional groups perform on Saturday night.
And what a Saturday night it was! We kicked off the night with All About Buford; by the end of their set, people were (literally!) dancing in the aisles -- off to a great start. We treated the audience to the charismatic Sons Of Pitches and the first-rate vocal jazz quartet Syncopation and closed with the House Jacks, who received a heartfelt standing ovation.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Saturday night show drew a crowd not entirely familiar with a cappella performance. At the beginning of the night, while All About Buford was rocking the house, one concert-goer stepped out to the lobby and demanded of the ticket taker (Rich Redmond, of Random Association): "I want my money back." Rich, puzzled, said, "I'm sorry, do you not like the music?" The audience member replied, "It's not that. It's that this was advertised as an 'a cappella' concert, and this is NOT a cappella. You have drum tracks and bass tracks playing." Rich responded, "No, Ma'am. Those are voices you are hearing. All the sounds you are hearing are coming from the singers," and he did a small demonstration. The woman listened to him, then listened at the door of the chapel. After a small epiphany, her last words were "OH MY GOD!" as she ran back to her seat.
I've always enjoyed attending A Cappella Summits, and it's been a pleasure to produce this event. To my delight, the concept of the A Cappella Summit, once a secret, is now ubiquitous. Not only does a Summit (forty-eight hours of uninterrupted a cappella!) serve to educate and inspire each participant, but it also holds together the edifice of the community. Reminiscent of the great tradition of folk festivals, A Cappella Summits reunite old colleagues, give new bands a chance to hold auditions, and form fellowships of volunteers. My personal barometer of success: as the Saturday night afterglow dissipates in the wee hours of the morning, I hear people say, "See you at next year's Summit!"
Marisa Debowsky is a Math teacher by hobby and the Music Director of the University of Vermont Cat's Meow by trade. She is the co-producer of the Vermont A Cappella Summit.
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