On Saturday, Feb. 22, Vocalign, Elizabethtown College’s coed a cappella group hosted their yearly Combo Show. This is a show in which Vocalign invites a cappella groups from other universities around Etown. The show was held in the Leffler Chapel at 7 p.m., and admission was $5 for students and $10 for visitors.
Excluding Vocalign, there were seven groups featured in the performance. Two of those groups were Etown’s Melica and Phalanx. Other groups included Chromatic and the Marauder Men from Millersville University, High Street Harmonix and Under A Rest from West Chester University, and the Meludees from the University of Delaware. Each group performed two songs from their discography. Vocalign sang five songs, since it was their show.
Vocalign was established in 2007 and is the only coed a cappella group on campus. The president is Kesley Bishop, and the vice president is Olivia Pituch. The music directors are Michael Sagedy and Owen Wentzberger. Other cabinet members include Kevin Hand as treasurer, and Emily Witmer as secretary.
The show opened and concluded with Vocalign. The show included songs such as “All For Us,” by Labrinth and Zendaya from HBO’s award winning series “Euphoria,” performed by Vocalign, “Too Sweet” by Hozier performed by Millersville’s Marauder Men, “Fix You” by Coldplay, sung by West Chester’s Under A Rest, and “Rise” by Katy Perry, sung by University of Delaware’s Meludees. The show ended with three songs from Vocalign, which included “Erase Me” by Lizzy McAlpine, sung by Vocalign member Witmer, and “Angel” by Halle Bailey, featuring Indira Jaikaran and Aaron Oliver as soloists. Finally, Vocalign sang their famous “Somebody to Love” by Queen, with soloists Grace Diehl, Bishop, Indira Jaikaran, Sagedy, Witmer and Pituch.
Diehl is a senior secondary English education major and Spanish minor, and has been in Vocalign since her first year at Etown. Diehl loves to sing songs by Maggie Rogers, Samia or Ashe. She is really excited to sing her senior song at Vocalign’s spring show, which is “Fallingwater” by Rogers. A fun fact about Diehl is that her favorite song that she has sung in Vocalign was “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo.
“I sang [Traitor by Rodrigo] as a duet my freshman year and I loved being able to find ways to make the song our own with harmonies and such,” Diehl said. “It’s much more fun to play off another singer and it gives you more opportunities to make the song unique and dynamic!”
“As a club, there’s a lot of communication from our leadership team to everyone else, so I think when it comes to inclusion we do a pretty good job of making sure everyone’s voices are heard. Whether during solo auctions or when it comes to song choice, we often decide what is best for the group together”, Diehl said. “We also collaborate with Melica and Phalanx a lot too which is always fun! Each group has their own vibe so I always love seeing what songs the other groups have chosen.”
Along with Diehl, Bishop was very involved at Saturday’s performance. Bishop is a junior occupational therapy major and a human services minor. This is her third year in Vocalign.
“Being president has been super fun! It’s really expanded my skills in scheduling, leadership, and communication with others,” Bishop said. “I think having the ability to be in any leadership position is so valuable for future career development, so it’s been super beneficial to me.”
The groups were invited to join Vocalign at Etown earlier in the day. Everyone was invited to hang out in the M&M Mars room in Leffler Chapel. There were games, coloring sheets, markers, crayons, colored pencils and music provided for the groups to enjoy.
“Being in this club has been so fun for me throughout college,” Bishop said. “It’s really awesome to see the bonds we’ve made with other schools, as seen at our Combo Show. I think it’s a unique opportunity to be able to connect with groups from Etown all the way to the University of Delaware. It’s definitely introduced us to so many cool things we’ve seen other groups do, and has encouraged us to branch out and try new techniques.”
The show was well received, with all of the groups being highly praised by audience members.
“I loved watching everyone perform. Every group was so good, it was hard to pick a favorite. I’d have to say Melica was my personal favorite, especially when they sang Bills, Bills, Bills,” sophomore Olivia Zortman said.
Vocalign does have a reputation for successful shows. The group is often seen performing around campus at orientations, accepted student’s days and other events hosted by the college. Even students who were not in attendance of the show knew that the performance on Saturday would be entertaining.
“I was catching up on homework this weekend and I couldn’t make it to the show! I’m sure that all the groups were good, especially the Etown groups,” second-year student Kaitlynn De La Rosa said.
“I love being in Vocalign! Rehearsals are always a good mix of catching up with friends and actually locking in and preparing for upcoming events. I can’t wait for the rest of our shows this semester!” Diehl said.
Students can catch Vocalign at their spring show, which is on March 23.
