Male acapella group turns into acapella club

When most of the members of Glee Club graduated last spring, it meant not enough members remained to sustain the group. But that didn’t mean the end of singing clubs on campus.  

To replace Glee Club, senior Nirav Adunuthula has started Acapella Club this year with choir teacher Andrew Ford as the adviser. The club is for any singing-enthusiasts, regardless of whether they were in Glee Club.“I wanted to start an acapella club to dismiss the idea that in a choir or large group, people will only sing classical songs that some find boring,” Adunuthula said. “This club will be great for anyone who loves to sing, and wants to sing more upbeat, current songs.”

Adunuthula also started the club after being inspired by a male acapella group that he is in, called “Enchord,” which was started by alumni Kevin Wu as a chance to sing fun music outside of choir class. This group performed at many functions, such as Pancake Breakfast and Saratoga’s Got Talent.

Senior Deyshna Pai has expressed interest for a women’s acapella group to be made as well. Since sophomore year, she has been working on arrangements and recruiting people to form a women’s acapella group.

“Having a close-knit group of people to try new songs has been a really helpful thing,” Pai said. “It was a way to test out what worked and what didn’t, which was a great learning experience.”

So far, there is no women’s group, but the Acapella Club has 10 members so far. They hope to sing more difficult music with more diversity in genres and create original arrangements.

Members of Acapella Club say they are willing to put in the effort to make the club the best it can be this year, because many of them are dedicated to singing and have loved it from a young age.

“When I was younger and went to Pancake Breakfast, I always saw the male acapella group,” sophomore Akshar Sarvesh said. “It seemed really fun and intriguing, and it really made me want to join as soon as I got to high school.”

Sarvesh originally hoped join Glee Club, but chose not last year, citing a lack of familiar faces and an involved adviser.

“Even though people loved Glee Club, it just couldn’t work out,” Adunuthula said. “The club was more like a group of seniors having fun and singing, rather than an actual organized club, which made it kind of hard to get anything done.”

Due to a lack of activities, fundraisers and advertising at Club Fair, the Glee Club was not able to attract new members and generally had a low profile on campus.

By contrast, Adunuthula plans to keep Acapella Club active by encouraging both under and upperclassmen to join, ensuring that there will always be a sustainable number of people in the club. He also wants to have new members help out with the organization and planning in order to incentivize people to stay in the club and recruit people to join in the future.

Adunuthula hopes to organize private gigs, or even get paid to perform. They also have some competitions in mind to perform at, such as the California Harmony Sweepstakes at the end of the school year.  

“We still have a lot of little complications to work out, but we’re confident in the future of the club and hope the club will stay and have a lasting impact for many years to come,” Adunuthula said.