Oak Park and River Forest High School has many vibrant a cappella groups run by students who are the core of the life and passion of the art form. The members of the a cappella groups have had lasting impacts on the students and community of a cappella at OPRF.
“Working with people who I care about to create something that we all care about, you know what I mean: that’s the best part of it all,” said senior Jeanine Brennan, co-president of the a capella group Orange and Blues.
Each acapella group brings distinct experiences to their members.
Take Five is a pop-oriented five-member ensemble of only tenor and bass vocalists. Their president is senior Tate Van-Duinen, who is a four-year member. Take Five frequently collaborates with Six Chicks for the Prisms of Winter Concert.
“It’s the most immersive performance of the school year,” Van-Duinen said.
Orange and Blues, led by Co-Presidents Van-Duinen and Brennan, differentiates itself by performing jazz pieces, as opposed to their pop-focused neighboring groups in OPRF.
“At first, Orange and Blues was kind of like an extension of the vocal jazz club, but since then it’s kind of liberated and isolated itself as an independent group,” said Van-Duinen. They went on to the Illinois High School Association Solo and Ensemble Competition, where they scored a division one superior which is the highest ranking according to Van-Duinen.
“There is like this certain like artistic…merit in…jazz acapella that you don’t necessarily get from a pop group,” said Brennan.
Six Chicks is incorporating jazz into their pop-centered schedule of songs for the year, according to senior Ivy Childress, a president of the group. They performed at the Huskie Music Fest on Oct. 14.
“We went from knowing nothing to like now we have a whole song…we like really pull it together…sometimes we have a really short amount of time to do it,” said senior President Mora Schigelone.
“We definitely try to make every single one count,” said Childress. Their group has seen an influx in auditions this year compared to last year, according to senior President Lauryn Reckamp. “I was proud of us, cause…we did good. Like people, like, heard of us,” said Reckamp.
No Strings is one of the first acapella groups to exist at OPRF, according to Meredith McGuire, the choir teacher at OPRF. Senior President Rowan Neville and the group have performed for Huskie Music Fest, and will perform for The Prisms of Winter Concert.
“My main goal is to have fun singing collaboratively, as you don’t need to take a choir class to join an acapella group,” said Neville.
The group provides not only fun but lasting bonds, according to McGuire. “One of the founding members of No Strings passed away about 10 years ago,” she said. “The existing No Strings at that time performed at her service.” The founding member’s legacy had lived on.
True Colors is for students of color, run by senior President Tavia Allen. They sing pieces from artists of African descent, a way for people to express themselves more comfortably with a community.
“Being a group just designated to people of color kind of made me more comfortable being able to sing with the group,” said Allen. They consistently perform at the Martin Luther King Assembly. Allen hopes to perform at The Prisms of Winter Concert while she is still here with her group.
“I think that it’s really really cool that you can be a part of something, and belong to a place, even if it’s just a small acapella group,” she said.
