Last Wednesday evening, incoming first-years were introduced to a musical staple of the Hamilton College community. Five a cappella groups performed for a full Wellin Hall of under and upperclassmen alike, bringing in the new school year on the right note.
Special K, Hamilton’s oldest all women’s a cappella group, performed first. The concert began with the group’s performance of “Daddy Lessons” by Beyoncé, featuring Bella Nichol ’19, “Blue Ridge Mountains” by Fleet Foxes, featuring Maddie Rodden ’20 and Josie Blatt ’21, “Creep” by Radiohead featuring Sara Jadbabaie ’21, and “Too Close” by Alex Claire featuring Eva Lynch-Comer ’19.
Of the performance, Special K’s President Casey Tobin said, “Overall, I’m so happy with how the concert went! I think all the groups were super tight and sounded amazing! For me personally, it was great to be back on stage performing with some of my favorite people after being abroad for a semester this past spring.”
Next, Duelly Noted, Hamilton’s newest all-gender group, performed “Cameo Lover” by Kimbra, “Past Lives” by Borns, and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King.”
Duelly Noted member Emily Aviles ’19 commented: “I think the concert went really well for all the groups, and I was proud of Duelly for pulling everything together after reuniting with members who had been abroad last year. Our group of eight is tiny (but mighty!) at the moment, so we are excited to audition new potential members.”
This upcoming semester Duelly noted is planning on debuting a diverse group of songs, according to Aviles.
Two of Tumbling After’s songs were “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse and “Bad Self Portraits” by Lake Street Dive. The Buffers did their signature joke song, “If I Were Not a Buffer” and “Signed Sealed Delivered” by Stevie Wonder. The Hamiltones sang “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap and a boy band medley of NSYNC and Backstreet Boys songs.
During the concert, the presidents of each group announced the other orientation concert, which took place on Friday in the Chapel, and their upcoming auditions which took place over the weekend.
An anonymous member of the Keytone Lights (secrecy is part of the group’s tradition) also commented on the performance, although the Keytone Lights did not take part in the performance on Wednesday.
The member expressed disappointment in the concert, but shared positive opinions of their own performance, which took place on Friday night, saying, “Our candlelit performance of ABBA’s ‘Take A Chance On Me’ was the most beautiful thing these freshmen have seen since they saw the light of the operating room that they were born in. Freshman stood in awe at the entrance of the chapel, as we serenaded them with our beautiful throats. If there was a fire, we would’ve caused multiple casualties, because they stood, rapt and entranced, blocking the Chapel exit.”
People can expect to receive an email regarding auditions for the Keytone Lights, and this information is always available on various social media pages.
All five a cappella groups are looking forward to an excellent semester. In summary, Tobin says, “As for the rest of the semester, we’re looking forward to performing during Fall Fest as well as family weekend and Fallcoming. We are also always excited to sing the Star-Spangled Banner before sports games and perform for fundraisers.”
