Sixteen students hit the jackpot at Turning Stone Resort Casino, not from playing slot machines or black jack, but by singing.

On Sunday, Syracuse University’s Groovestand was one of nine a cappella groups that competed in Turning Stone’s A Cappella Showdown. The participating collegiate singing groups represented different colleges and universities in Upstate New York, but Groovestand was the sole representation of SU’s a cappella community.

After the judges heard all of the performances, Groovestand enthusiastically accepted second place and took home a check for $1,000.

“I think we did really, really well, and at the beginning of the day I was getting a little nervous, because I was walking around the room and I could hear all the competition. I literally walked up to the group and was like, ‘Guys, you better be ready, because these guys are really, really good,’” said Janine McElhone, one of Groovestand’s co-music directors and a senior information management and technology major.

Duelly Noted from Hamilton College took home the grand prize: a check worth $2,500. This was the first time Duelly Noted had ever participated in a competition, McElhone said, and she was happy another deserving group took first place.

Groovestand performed two numbers at Turning Stone, with original arrangements by members in the group. First they sang “I Care” by Beyoncé, arranged by senior Spanish and television, radio and film major Anthony Wright. Then the group did a mashup of Olly Murs’ “Troublemaker” with Britney Spears’ “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” which was arranged by McElhone.

Performances were judged by the scores of three panellists, and the final 25 percent of the groups’ scores came from audience votes. Meghan Flaim, Groovestand’s president, said the three judges are professionals in the music and a cappella industry.

According to the event’s Facebook page, the judges were: Mike Chin, who runs a blog called acappellablog.com; Johanna Vinson, best known for competing in NBC’s “The Sing-Off” in the all-female group Delilah; and local radio personality “Big Mike” Fiss. Jovany Javier, a contestant on season 10 of American Idol, hosted the evening.

One of the newer members of the group, sophomore musical theater major Jon Paul Roby, said he was pleasantly surprised at how well Groovestand did. This was his first time performing with the group in a competition setting since joining last spring. He said Groovestand stands out and breaks the cookie-cutter mould of collegiate a cappella groups because of the members’ many bold, exciting personalities that come alive onstage.

“It’s a whole different experience for competitions,” said Roby. “I mean, we’ve performed for crowds that are just as big, with Afterhours and everything, but it’s just very different when you are competing against different groups and you have to put your best foot forward, and it’s not just for entertainment value.”

Since it was a competition, Roby said the groups did not get to interact with each other very much. They weren’t even allowed to view each other’s performances, since they had to be backstage for most of the show.

As far as Groovestand’s winnings go, McElhone said she isn’t sure what they plan to do with the money just yet. They may use it to pay for future hotel fees, or may save the money for when they decide to put together a new CD.

Meghan Flaim, a senior music industry major, said the audience seemed to enjoy the group’s performance, so she was pleased with the outcome. For instance, in competitive a cappella performances, she said that audiences are supposed to wait to applaud until after the group is done singing its set, remaining silent during song breaks. But the Turning Stone audience didn’t follow that rule for Groovestand.

“They’re only supposed to clap at the end of our set, but they clapped in-between our songs,” Flaim said. Even so, she said the competitive atmosphere is something that the group needs to get used to before they compete in the International Championship of A Cappella next semester.

Published on November 18, 2013 at 1:25 am

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