"Look! Quick!" One of my friends pawed at my face to turn my head toward the door of Sherman Function Hall, where we were seated, waiting for Starving Artists' 14th-annual collective show, "A Cappella Fest," to begin. Laughing, my friend pointed at Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel dancing through the doorway in time with the Top-40 Spotify station that had been blasting throughout the venue to pump up the audience. I could tell that this was going to be a good show.

To kick off the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts on a happy note last Thursday evening, "A Cappella Fest" assembled Brandeis' large collection of a cappella groups to showcase the impressive cache of vocal talent on campus. All 13 campus a cappella groups were present, as well as a guest group from Lexington High School. Funds raised by ticket sales for the show went to benefit a local charity, the Greater Waltham Arc, which works to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Starving Artists' members Ellyn Getz '13 and Abby Armstrong '13 emceed the show, which was largely inspired by the theme of this year's Festival of the Arts, "Imagine the Impossible." Groups took their creative cues from iconic pop culture fixtures that are associated with imagination-ranging from John Lennon's song "Imagine" to films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The show opened with a massive performance in which all 13 groups took to the stage and performed Lennon's "Imagine" together. Coordinating all of the harmonies, timing and solos performed during this number with such a large group was a feat in itself, but the performance was commendable-the multivalent melodies were smooth and pleasant.

After the collective performance, the groups dispersed toward the back of the room, and each group took to the stage individually, performing two or three of their favorite or most well-known songs, with some groups even making debuts of new songs. Getz and Armstrong introduced each group with a fun fact about that group's history, a member of the group or their performance.

Starving Artists kicked off the group performances, its members dressed in a bold red, all smiling and clearly excited for the show to come. Their first song was a stunningly resonant rendition of Neon Trees' hit "Animal," which has been a popular Top 40 radio favorite. Starving Artists set a precedent for the rest of the groups, who, continually, put complex and harmonic twists on pop songs that we are all used to hearing performed in their original auto-tuned glory.

Company B, Brandeis' coed classic hits a cappella group, made a world premiere of "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow" for the occasion, for which Sarah Brodsky '15 delivered an outstanding solo performance. The group added in some subtle choreography that made the performance all the more cheery, and Brodsky's adorable air-guitar dance moves got the audience laughing and smiling in a few seconds. The group announced that their 30th founding anniversary will be next year, but they won't stop thinking about tomorrow anytime soon.

A personal favorite performance of mine was delivered by Rather Be Giraffes, who excitedly took the stage, all wearing black shirts with a rainbow variation of neckties. Getz and Armstrong introduced the group's performance of Florence + The Machine's "Shake It Out" with a hilarious story about how the song's soloist, Ryan Mulvihill-Pretak '16, accidentally auditioned for the group thinking that he was joining a giraffe appreciation club. Another of my favorite performances came from Too Cheap For Instruments, an all-female group who wore black tops and color-coordinated sashes around their hips and flaunted beautiful, and obviously rigorously rehearsed, harmony parts. Abbie Goldberg '16 sang a solo part while the rest of the group joyously stomped their feet together to Mumford & Sons' "Roll Away Your Stone." The ladies then showcased their flawless harmonic coordination to an ethereal performance of Imogen Heap's airy "Hide and Seek," their intonations following hand directions from Deena Horowitz '13.

Overall, "A Cappella Fest" provided an upbeat, dynamic event that was a perfect evening performance for students and families. While each of Brandeis' 13 a cappella groups holds various performances of their own throughout the school year, seeing all of the groups together in one room, singing with light hearts and smiling faces, was a powerful and happy moment.
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