Ohio State a cappella groups to put on musical showcase

The Statesmen will be one of five groups performing at the Spring A Cappella Showcase Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Hitchcock Hall. Credit: Courtesy of Jarrod Hay

Several Ohio State a cappella groups will come together in song for their first combined showcase since the pandemic began.

Ohio State is home to multiple student-led a cappella groups — singing ensembles that perform without instrumental accompaniment — several of which will join together for the Spring A Cappella Showcase Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The showcase is primarily organized by Ohio State’s first a cappella group, The Ohio State of Mind, and will feature four additional student a cappella groups: Scarlet Fever, Scarlet and Grace Notes, Statesmen and Sound of Science. 

Aria Cadeau, a third-year in music education and music director and choreographer for The Ohio State of Mind, said this showcase is the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that the a cappella groups of Ohio State have put on a joint show.

“We all have relationships with each other and do our best to support each other, but this is honestly the first year that we’ve had, like, a group chat of all of the leaders where we’re trying to do things together and kind of strengthen the whole community overall at OSU,” Cadeau said.

Cadeau said The Ohio State of Mind’s showcase set will be a preview of their performance for the semi-finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Saturday in St. Louis. If the group wins the semi-finals competition, they advance to the finals.

“We’re hoping this is the year that we place first and get to go to New York. That’s the big event that’s going on,” Cadeau said.

Statesmen, which is made up of 12-15 members of the Ohio State Men’s Glee Club, is one of the groups performing at the showcase. Jarrod Hay, a fourth-year in neuroscience, member of Statesmen and president of the Men’s Glee Club, said the group will bring some modern pop songs to the table, along with more choral-sounding songs.

“We do a lot of more poppy kind of music, but we still do some stuff that reflects on our choral background, as we are all part of the Men’s Glee Club already,” Hay said. “You’ll hear a little bit of stuff that might be different from your traditional pop a cappella groups that you’ll see around campus.” 

Hay said being able to perform a cappella with Statesmen, and practice music in general at a collegiate level, gives him an outlet to express himself alongside friends. 

“Music, specifically to me, is a way to express a passion that exists outside of what I already have to do for the curricular work,” Hay said. “It’s just a really fun way to take a break from all the other stuff that’s going on and just kind of have some fun doing something that I enjoy.” 

Hay said Statesmen are excited to be joining the collaborative a cappella scene at Ohio State by performing at the showcase. 

“It’s really great to be able to get inspiration and also feedback from other groups,” Hay said. “That’s always so valuable because everybody offers different insight, and different groups have way different skills, and so it’s really cool to just be able to bring it all together.” 

Hay said he hopes the collaborative showcase will help broaden students’ perspectives on what a cappella is and can be.

“A cappella is not just what we see in ‘Pitch Perfect,’ ” Hay said. “It’s just kind of cool for someone to see that it’s very flexible and you can kind of explore your passion in a lot of different ways.” 

The Spring A Cappella Showcase will take place in Hitchcock Hall Room 131. There will be no admission fee, and doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Masks will be optional, in accordance with Ohio State’s masking policies.