Holiday Harmonies

Holiday Harmonies

Benjamin Hunton

Managing Editor

bh1010@plymouth.edu

On Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12, Plymouth State University’s all-male a cappella group, Vocal Order, and all-female a cappella group, Mixed Emotions, will be performing their annual Holiday Concert, Holiday Harmonies, at the Plymouth Regional Senior Center at 7:00 p.m.

Both groups will be collectively performing 20 a cappella arrangements of songs spanning from popmusic, to classic rock, to holiday classics and everything in between. Most arrangements are originals written by members of the groups, while some have been written and performed by other a cappella groups.

The two groups rehearse two to three times a week all semester long in preparation for their endof the-semester shows. It isn’t an easy feat to pull off. “The rehearsal process is tricky because everyone has such busy schedules,” said Mixed Emotions Business Manager, Jackie Goodrich. “Our only option is to practice late at night, but each girl is so dedicated to this group that it makes rehearsals fun and easy!”

Despite the scheduling setbacks, both groups feel confident in their abilities and are excited to show off everything they’ve been working on all semester. “The rehearsal process has been going really well,” said Mixed Emotions Music Director, Amanda Harrington. “We have a hard-working group of girls this year, and this concert is really going to show the diversity in the group.”

"We love rehearsals!” said Vocal Order Music Director, Alex Hunton. “Everyone is so dedicated and even when we have to rehearse late at night there are no complaints and everyone just enjoys being there.”

The two groups have been known to perform very diverse sets of songs in the past, with Mixed Emotions performing arrangements of classic songs such as “Someone to Watch Over Me” by George Gershwin, and pop songs such as “Chandelier” by Cia. “We tend to pick a lot of women empowerment songs as well since we are a strong female a cappella group,” said Goodrich. “We try to have a little something for all different ages to enjoy.” Vocal Order has also had their fair share of diversity in music, performing everything from classic Billy Joel songs, to “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen”.  “The most exciting part is showing off all of our hard work,” said Hunton. “We have an amazing sound that we have really worked at all semester and it's great to share it.”

Audiences at previous shows have gotten to enjoy the high energy and fun that both groups bring to the stage each semester, and the groups are excited to be bringing that same energy this year. “The most exciting part of performing with the girls in our shows would definitely be the amount of positive energy everyone brings to the table,” said Goodrich. “After a whole semester of working super hard at learning our music, it’s amazing to see it come to life!”

Holiday Harmonies will take place on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Plymouth Regional Senior Center. The second will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the same time and location. Admission to the show is free for anyone, with donations happily accepted at the door.

Mixed Emotions 2015                                                                                                                                                

Vocal Order 2015