Last December, 14 boys at East gathered to practice every day after school for their upcoming choral performance at the North Carolina Executive Mansion. After two weeks of restless preparation, the date was finally nearing.
“Everybody showed up and everybody was wearing their uniforms, everybody had their little scarves on and their music, and everything went great,” said their leader, now-senior Zane Buckner. “And honestly, my favorite part [was] after the performance, [when] we were in a circle with some of our alumni singing in the parking lot. That was almost more fun than doing the actual performance in the mansion… I went from having done nothing all year to doing the greatest performance of my entire life.”
East has three a cappella groups: the Alley Cats, the Chiefs of Staff and the Scattertones; all-female, all-male and mixed-gender extracurricular choral ensembles, respectively. They comprise 11-15 members who arrange and perform popular music without instrumental accompaniment. Despite being closely associated, the groups work separately.
The ensembles perform about once a month, such as at school chorus concerts, the Cat’s Cradle, joint concerts with UNC a cappella groups. In addition, the groups participate in informal community gigs, even including street performances on Franklin Street.
Each a cappella group regularly meets twice per week: once at lunch, and once at an off-campus rehearsal. They are student-run, with indirect involvement from Davis-Omburo, who oversees them and deals with administrative tasks such as event organization.
Most members are simultaneously in the school’s choir class, where they are trained in vocal performances. Experience enables them to train other a cappella members in turn.
“[A cappella is] very different from doing music by yourself or even doing music in a class… because all our groups are student-run,” said Cece Harrison, the co-president of the Scattertones. “If you are serious about music, and if you want to learn how to be a good leader… you can get a lot of useful skills…. It takes a good work ethic to be a part of a group of people who share a common goal of creating a final product that… we can all be proud of.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensembles were unable to perform or meet in person until last year. Instead, they held online meetings and recorded performances. Nonetheless, senior Micah Hughes, president of the Alley Cats, says the musicians’ devotion to the group never wavered.
“Since the pandemic, we really got closer as a group. We have more of a love for performing now,” Hughes said. “Nothing’s different from before, but I think we’ve realized now that a chance to perform is not always a given, so we never took advantage of it as much. I think that we truly understand how important in-person performance is, now that we haven’t [had one one] for a year.”
Similarly, the Chiefs underwent significant reorganization and required extensive recruitment upon return from quarantine. However, Buckner said that its cohesiveness has been restored this year, and their sense of community has made the experience enjoyable.
“I get to do it with all my guy friends, just in a unique space. Literally nothing else can compare to being there with 13 of my best friends and just singing something that I enjoy singing, because you’re singing but you’re also putting on a show and having fun,” Buckner said.
Photo courtesy of the East SAVE Club
