For all you a cappella fans out there, the fourth annual A Cappella Fest, one of the best attended shows of the semester, hosted by Starving Artists Wednesday night, must have been a great treat. A full night of songs, jokes and gifts complimented the real reason behind the event -- to raise money for Amnesty International and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Brandeis' own a cappella groups sang to a packed Schwartz auditorium for entertainment and charity.The first group to show off their skills and kick the night off was In Sync. Their songs invoked a "calm and chill" atmosphere with covers of "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, "Angel of the Morning" by The Pretenders and "Hands Clean" by Alanis Morrisette. It was quite a task, going first in a long line of talented groups, but they showed their mettle and pulled through with a good set.

Next on the list was Manginah singing Israeli pop music in Hebrew and English. Their set included "Geulah," "Soul Mate" by Neshama Carlebach, and "Adon Olam" which was the parody of all the oldies pop songs sung in Hebrew. Their music had a great up-beat sound to it, and everyone was excited to hear so many songs they recognized sung in Hebrew. When Manginah finished their set they were met with a big round of applause.

After Manginah came Proscenium singing Broadway musical numbers that everyone knows and loves. They did "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Someone Like You" from Jekyll and Hyde and their newest piece, "All That Jazz" from Chicago. The musical theatre a cappella group has definitely come a long way from last semester and their hard work has paid off, showing a lot of talent and great singers as well as impressive arrangements.

Company B, Brandeis' oldest a cappella group, took the stage next and proceeded to entertain the audience with classic songs that everybody at one point or another has sung along with when they plaayed on the radio. They sang "Don't Go Breakin My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee, "Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye and "So Happy Together" by the Turtles - all great songs from before 1980. This was the end to a great first half of A Cappella Fest.

After intermission, the all male, award-winning group VoiceMale took the stage as girls yelled out their love for each of the talented men. They sang "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams, "Walking In Memphis" by Marc Cohn and "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. Their smooth style and obvious love of the female attention started off the second half of A Cappella Fest.

After VoiceMale, Rather Be Giraffes, the newest a cappella group on the scene, received the recognition they were looking for on campus. Singing the songs "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, "32 Flavors" by Ani Difranco and "Run Around" by Blues Traveler, the group showed their skill and talent at one of the most attended shows of the semester.

Spur of the Moment was the second to last group to perform at this year's A Cappella Fest. They sang the always-great song "Hold On" by Wilson Philips, along with "3x5" by John Mayer, and their TV theme song medley "The Theme Song," which included tunes from great shows like Family Matters, Step By Step and others that everyone recognized. People sang along with the well-arranged set of songs and enjoyed every minute of it.

Last, but certainly not least, our hosts of the evening, Starving Artists, took the show as the closing group. They did their well-known songs "Faded" by Soul Decision and "A Woman's Worth" by Alicia Keys. They also included a newer song, "King of New Orleans" by Better Than Ezra, and the newest addition to their repertoire, "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne. They finished the night with a huge applause and thanked everyone for helping to raise approximately 800 dollars for Amnesty International and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The official speakers for the evening, Heather Henckler '03 and Solomon Sheena '03, were very entertaining throughout the night, asking trivia questions about each group and giving away prizes. Their witty jokes along with the great entertainment made the fourth annual A Cappella Fest hosted by Starving Artists a night to remember.