#crapapella

A very late winter weekend post!

I had a ton of fun at winter weekend this year! My a capella group, the one and only Crapapella performed and not one, but two winter weekends. Our first performance at Lamont was a Carly Rae Jepson medley. Our second, at Baldwin house, ending with a rousing rendition of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, during which all of Baldwin joined our kick-line and sang along. Needless to say, it was a great way to end the semester.

All the crapapella members who were able to make it to our winter weekend performance at Baldwin.

As a high school student, I was heavily involved in my schools music department, and I knew that I wanted to continue making music at Smith. I ended up joining several ensembles, and I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far. At Montage, the parents weekend concert, all three of my ensembles performed, which was busy, but really fun! Here’s the breakdown:

Wind Ensemble:

I play the flute in wind ensemble. It’s the largest ensemble that I’m in and it’s the most similar to what I was playing in high school. It’s overall a very supportive environment, and I’ve felt welcomed in as a first year! There aren’t auditions, so any amount of experience is welcome. We play a mix of contemporary and more traditional wind ensemble repertoire. 

Handbell Choir

I’ve played the handbells for years at my church, and I was lucky enough to come to a school that had a handbell choir. We just played Good Morning Baltimore, and now we’re working on various seasonal pieces for Christmas time concerts. Depending on numbers of the group, anyone is able to join Handbells regardless of experience!

Crapapella

Okay, so I had originally not planned on auditioning for Crapapella, but after seeing them perform at Arch Sing, the event at the beginning of the semester where all the a cappella groups perform, I was blown away by how silly and hilarious they were. Crapapella is Smith’s only *alternative* a cappella group, and we delight others with our consistently off key singing and enthusiastic moves. Crapapella also performed at Montage, where we sang a medley of Hotel California, California Girls, and Talk Dirty to Me. Performing for sure pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I ended up having way more fun than I thought I would have. 

Last week we had an event called Arch Sing! At Arch Sing, all the a cappella groups on campus perform and give information about auditions. It was so much fun to go with my house and see all the incredible performances!

I ended up auditioning for crapapella last Wednesday, and luckily got in! Crapapella is Smith’s alternative a cappella group for people who can’t sing, but love to do it anyway and put on a great show. Their audition process is similar to other a cappella groups on campus. You come in with a song prepared (I sang the iCarly theme song), and sing and dance your heart out! For my audition, I also did an interpretive on the spot dance to Tik Tok by Ke$sha, and posed as an eggplant.

I found out I got in Wednesday night when members of Crapapella knocked on my door and sung me in! I then went along to the houses of the other new members to sing them in. It was a ton of fun, and I’m super excited for rehearsals to start!

Hey! I am currently a member of crapapella!! Yes, you do have to audition but it is pretty relaxing usually we ask you to sing about thirty seconds of a song you like and then we ask you some questions. I was really nervous for my audition but now I’m so glad that I did it!

Last week was the first full week of classes! I’ve already been here almost a month since I got back early for training, so it’s not really feeling new anymore.

Two of my favorite Smith traditions happened this week! The first actually happens every day for the first week of classes-- we have a barbecue on Chapin Lawn for lunch and WOZQ (our on-campus radio station) plays music for everyone. It’s been a hot but super pretty week and I always love meeting up with friends and sitting outside together. Here are some pics:

It’s not a Smith tradition, but my house does Wednedsay nigh study breaks, and this week we made cookies, here’s a picture of my friend Sarah, a sophomore in my house, trying to take the cookies out with prongs (since we couldn’t find oven mitts).

And, last but not least, this Sunday was Arch Sing!! Arch Sing is one of my favorite Smith events-- it’s when all the a cappella groups perform under the Neilson arch (which has nifty florescent lights). It’s supposed to be a way to get to know each a cappella group before the week of auditions (this week).

I’m a part of Crapapella, Smith’s alternative a cappella group- which is more like a comedy group for people who can’t sing. I’ve been a member all four years and am now co-president. We’re super goofy but have a lot of fun. This year we sang Viva la Vida by Coldplay and Seasons of Love from Rent, but we rewrote the lyrics to change it to Seasons of Smith. Here’s a group picture we took:

My first year roommate and best bud, Cadence, is in the Vibes, so naturally, heres one last florescent picture to commemorate our last Arch Sing. I remember going together as first years and sitting together, so it was a fun full-circle moment.

This past weekend was Winter Weekend, when all the houses at Smith put on parties and events for their residents. A lot of a capella groups go around and sign at the various houses, and Crapapella was hired to perform at Talbot, King, and Emerson houses. None of the videos are up yet, but here’s a photo of the group of us before our last performance of the night (I’m the one in the elephant hat):

I asked my dear friend Maya who is a member and she had this to say: