Flyer

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Tempo

Media Credit: Brian Schmidt

Being a new group on campus certainly has its challenges.

Knowing whether or not you'll get a warm response (or any response for that matter) by students and faculty alike is certainly a qualm any first year group/organization thinks about.

But for Lewis' first a cappella group, "Harmonic Uprising," the overall response has been welcomed on campus by students and staff with open arms.

The group has made performances on many on-campus events like "Family Day" last semester and at various "Coffee Houses."

But for the first time ever, the group received a distinct invite to the first ever "Acappellooza" at University of Illinois at Chicago to be held on April 26.

To be held at UIC's Student Center West, "Acappellooza" is a gathering of many a cappella groups from various universities across the Chicagoland area, and is aimed at heightening awareness about the a cappella ensembles present, and about the whole genre as well.

General admission to the event is $7, with all proceeds benefiting the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and the UIC Jazz Academy.

UIC's own a cappella group, "Downtown Voices," and vocal jazz ensemble, "Lake Affects," will host the event, alongside performances by Illinois Institute of Technology's "TechTonics" and "Crown Joules," DePaul University's "DMaC" and Lewis' own "Harmonic Uprising."

Brian Schmidt, Music major and director of "Harmonic Uprising," explained that the response to the group has been positive all around.

"People seem to be excited about us on campus, even if they're not fans of a cappella. Everyone seems to be willing to give us a try, which is all we need because we feel like we can hook them and [they'll] give us a chance," said Schmidt.

The organizers of "Acappellooza" caught wind of Lewis' "Harmonic Uprising" through the database Collegiate-Acappella.com, according to Schmidt, and the invite meant a lot for the first year group.

"[It was] great for us to get the invite because they could've picked any other of the number of other groups in Chicago," said Schmidt.

At "Acappellooza," Schmidt mentioned that each group was given 15-20 minutes for their showcase and that several of the group's staple covers like Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" is definitely going to be part of their performance at the event.

"I think it's great for us as a first year program to get the invite to [go]. Regardless that it's a first year event, it's a cool thing for us to get recognition from other schools and other groups in the city especially," said Schmidt.

Continued...

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