Got Glee? Don't miss out on UAA's a cappella troubadours this semester

If you ever need a lift, sit through a UAA Glee Club practice. I've done it twice, and each time was, well... heartwarming and a whole lot of fun. I always left with a smile on my face, thinking the world was a pretty nice place if it included voices and energy like this.

I suspect if you catch these troubadours opening Oct. 9 for A Cappella Festivella, you'll be grinning and tapping your own toes well before the main act, Filharmonic with Fermata Nowhere, takes the stage.

The club is also preparing for their once-a-semester concert. This time it will be in Wendy Williamson Auditorium on Nov. 21. Mark your calendars! The concert is always free but the club accepts donations to go toward paying for rental use of mics and performance space.

Fall 2014 makes season nine for UAA Glee Club, by the way-the steady outgrowth of the original club launched by music performance voice major Alex Pierce in 2010. Each semester equals one season for the club. Two years after the launch, Pierce graduated. Jillian Pollack headed the club for a year, and now member and music education major Lailani Cook has stepped up as its new president.

My first time witnessing their talent came Sept. 6, a Saturday afternoon as students were trying out for a slot on the fall semester roster. For auditions, prospective members and club officers gathered in a Fine Arts Building classroom with a piano off to one side. The room was set up like a small amphitheater with an obvious if tiny performance pocket right down in front.

Lailani, this year's president, called the hopefuls forward one by one according to a number they'd selected. Talk about brave! Each student stepped to the center and-with no accompaniment or microphone-sang the tune they'd chosen for their audition.

The students come from many different disciplines, from music majors to accounting and marketing majors. They sang all kinds of songs, from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to "The Way I Am" and "Mulan" from Disney. Each singer ended his or her tryout with a personal version of "Happy Birthday to You."

Lailani explained that having students sing a song of their own choosing can demonstrate personality and showcase their voice. Having each sing the birthday classic gave her and other club officers a chance to compare voices on the similar lyrics and tune.

Tryouts also included a bit of choreography. Everyone trooped over to a new location, a different classroom in the Fine Arts Building that included a stage. Hazel De Los Santos, club vice president, pulled up a tune on a nearby computer and proceeded to give dance moves in short sequences while those behind her mimicked her steps. Lailani explained that this part of the tryout is an opportunity to see how people fit together and how quickly they pick up dance moves.

Of course, more people tried out than club officers knew they could accommodate. A lot figures into those selection decisions, Lailani said. For one, keeping the group at about 20 makes it easier to plan rehearsals, coordinating schedules being easier the smaller the group. The other factor is the requirement for certain voices. Three people with similar voices might need to be whittled down to one position.

At the close of auditions, Lailani told the group how club officers would proceed next. Everyone would get contacted, whether they made it in this semester or not. "We love all you guys!" Lailani said. "If you don't make it this time, keep saying hi to us, and come back next semester!"

The next time I visited with this group, they'd secured the opening act for the Oct. 9  A Cappella Festivella and were prepping tunes for that. They were also thinking ahead to their big production on Nov. 21 and holding solo auditions for performances unique to that event.

By now, semester singers had been selected and it was clear performers were melding into close-knit colleagues. The love of singing and the pleasure of performing together played out on everyone's faces as they practiced numbers. Over and over, I heard references to the group as an extended family.

There are up days and down days in rehearsal. The group is a blend of some professionally experienced singers with some talented amateurs. The leadership challenge for Lailani is to keep everyone on the same page and moving toward their performance goals.

At 29 this November, mom to a 10-year-old and married to a military spouse, she says she's a little older than other club members. She's also been in charge of a church choir before, but acknowledges she had a lot of adult support when she did it. She strongly feels this group and its success rests on her and the other club officers ability to stay organized. She's practicing strategies she hopes will lead to success for everyone. That includes keeping communication simple and straightforward.

"We have members with beautiful voices who can't read music," she says. So directions need to be inclusive and easy for all to follow, something that taps into her obvious leadership abilities. She's warm and friendly and seems comfortable leading the group.

But even when one piece of a song turns out a little rocky in rehearsal, the smiles and energy-from her, the club officers and the entire group-never quit. When they stumble, it seems no one can wait to "take it from the top" again.

Don't miss the chance to see them perform Oct.9 and again on Nov. 21. And just maybe, if you play your cards right, they'll let you sit in the back of a classroom when they rehearse, and you can get a more frequent dose of their certifiable uplift!

Written by Kathleen McCoy, UAA Office of University Advancement