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OREM — Orem High School's fledgling a cappella group, “Critical Mass,” will compete in the regional International Championship of High School a cappella competition in San Antonio, Texas. This group will be the first Utah high school a cappella team to reach that level.
The competition takes place Saturday, March 7.
The journey in vocal instrumentation began last May for 11 students.
“This is like a dream come true for me,” said Jonathan Meyers, creator of Critical Mass. “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I came into high school.”
The team consists of seven seniors, one junior, and three sophomores. They hone their steps and blend their sound at least five hours a week. Yet no amount of rehearsing could prepare Meyers for this milestone in his life.
“It’s really hard because a lot of us are involved in so many other things,” said Meyers.
The movie “Pitch Perfect” made this vocal competition popular for college co-eds. Meyers and his team are part of the high school arm of the competition.
“This is totally ‘Pitch Perfect’ in high school,” said Meyers. “The competition we’re going to is the same competition that’s in the movie, except this is real life.”
The a cappella style of vocal performance is becoming a rhythmic tradition even the ‘cool’ kids can appreciate.
“A lot of students will come up and ask me ‘when is your next performance? I’m so excited. You guys are so cool,’” explained Meyers.
Meyers said the group is self-directed but professional vocalists consult and critique the performance.
“I feel like we have a lot of talent in our group,” explained Meyers. “Everyone’s aware of what needs to be done and what needs to be fixed.”
Critical Mass will compete against 10 other schools in the Southwest region. Varsity Vocals is the group responsible for the a cappella competitions. Six hundred groups will compete from 11 regions nationwide — 150 are high school groups. The winners from these regions will compete in the national competition in New York, along with one “wild card” winner.
“The wild cards are those who placed second or third in the competition,” said Amanda Newman, executive director of Varsity Vocals. “They will submit a video and the judges will choose one winner to join the others on the national stage.”
Newman said she’s been pleased with the performance from past a cappella groups from Utah colleges.
“I hope that because of the choral tradition of strong music in Utah,” explained Newman “that we’ll continue to see a cappella grow in Utah and across the country.”
Fostering an interest in this type of competition has been difficult for Critical Mass. The group is relying on an online campaign to fund its trip to San Antonio.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure setting a precedent,” said Meyers. “It’s never been done before. So we have to get all of the (financial) support ourselves.”
Another piece of added pressure is Critical Mass will compete against other high school students who have had more experience singing a cappella.
Senior Phoebe Shepherd is a soloist in the group. She has been performing in community theater productions, “so a cappella is a whole new world of parts and different sounds and new discoveries for my voice,&rdqo; she said.
Sophomore Misha Sawyer admits she’s more comfortable on stage playing different characters. She said singing a cappella is out of her comfort zone.
The competition we're going to is the same competition that's in the movie, except this is real life.
–Jonathan Meyers
“When you’re in a cappella, you’re not playing a part, so you have to be yourself,” said Sawyer. “And it’s kind of scary to put yourself out there I guess.”
Critical Mass members are making last minute tweaks to the choreography and setting their sights on the culmination of a year’s worth of work.
Senior Michael Avila is cautiously hopeful.
“My whole life now is just music and I love it,” he explained. “But when it comes to the competition, I can’t help but think ‘did we do it?’ ‘Did we practice enough?’ ‘Are we ready?’ ‘Are we prepared?’”
Shepherd said the team can only do the best it can, “And we’ll bring what we can to the table.”
Even if what Critical Mass brings to the table in San Antonio isn’t enough to propel it to national acclaim, at least members will have more than just memories.
“I guess I’ve just become more confident in myself,” said Misha Sawyer. “Because making it into this group was something big for me.”
The group and competition have also become a big deal for all 11 vocal instrumentalists, who with their own unique tones, are no longer strangers but more like family.
“Honestly, I think we have a really awesome cohesive group,” said Meyers. “It’s been really fun. We’re all good friends and we all hang out.”
