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Featured News

Sing It On

The real life Pitch Perfect, a cappella documentary ‘Sing It On’ premieres tonight from 9:30pm on Channel V, Foxtel.

Earlier this week, we spent a day at Foxtel Studios with The Nor’easters (USA aca-stars from Sing It On) creating some fun promo material for the show. With the help of Vocal Australia singers plus some of AUSACA singers from Macquarie University’s a cappella group, Mac-appella, we headed down to Macquarie Centre to do an a cappella flashmob!

We also joined with The Idea of North and The Nor’easters in the afternoon to film some fun interviews and aca-games! We can’t wait until they’re up online!

Thank you to Channel V for the massive shout out to Vocal Australia on their website!

Big thanks to all the producers at Channel V, Foxtel and Made In Katana for inviting us to be part of the aca-awesome promo day! We had a blast and can’t wait to watch Sing It On every Thursday night!

We’ve got our fingers crossed they make an Aussie version of Sing It On or The Sing Off in the near future too!

Sing it on V Vocal Australia Macappella post rehearsal

Sing it on V Vocal Australia Macappella post flashmob

Categories
Featured News

Pitch Perfect 2 A Cappella Flashmobs

We were thrilled to be invited by Universal Pictures Australia to provide a cappella flashmob groups for their Official Premiere Screenings of Pitch Perfect 2 in Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Adelaide on the 3rd and 4th May!

These screenings (which were some of the first in the world) were attended by media, celebrities, bloggers, some AUSACA singers and a cappella fans!

Special thanks to all our flashmob singers:

  • Sydney and Melbourne All-stars: Amelia Alder, Chris Blain (Suade), Jane Patterson (Ginger & Tonic), Matthew Tuey (USA) and Philip Tesoro (USA)
  • Queensland: Serotonin (Griffith University)
  • Adelaide: Festival Statesmen Youth Chorus (AUSACA 2014 National Champions)

Check out the following vlogs featuring our flashmob performances from the Sydney premiere screening!
HeyImNatalia | AlrightHey | Joel Micallef

We also provided a cappella singers for Hoyts Australia’s major cinemas for their Girls Night Out advance screenings of Pitch Perfect 2 on Wed 6 May.

Massive thanks to the following groups for performing at these events:

  • Hoyts Melbourne Central: Suade (Australia’s #1 male a cappella group)
  • Hoyts Entertainment Quarter – Sydney: Temper (AUSACA NSW Finalists)

Head to our social media pages to see photos and videos of all the flashmob groups.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Pitch Perfect 2 Sydney Premiere

 

Categories
Featured News

A Cappella on The Morning Show on 7

Vocal Australia recently partnered up with Universal Pictures Australia and The Morning Show on 7 to create some fun a cappella segments promoting both Pitch Perfect 2 and AUSACA Australian A Cappella Championship!

The first segment, which aired on 24 April, featured our friend and aca-legend Deke Sharon (USA). Deke is the music producer and arranger for Pitch Perfect 1 & 2 and NBC’s The Sing Off.

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/watch/27318721/pitch-perfects-star-coach/

The second segment, which aired on 1 May, featured the debut performance of ‘The Kylies’ starring Larry Emdur, Kylie Gillies and Vocal Australia.

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/watch/27501921/a-cappella-all-stars/

Summer flashback version: https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/watch/30305835/summer-flashback-the-kylies/#page1

Massive thanks to our singers: Amelia Alder, Chris Blain (Suade), Loz Blain (Suade), Jane Patterson (Ginger & Tonic), Michael Honey (Drums of War), Alex Siegers, Emma Shaw (Sexy Pitches).

Huge thanks to Universal Pictures Australia and The Morning Show on 7 for providing us with the opportunity!

 

The Kylies Vocal Australia

Categories
Featured News

3 ways to ensure your singers are winners

1. We all want to win, but there can only be one…so what will you ‘win’ if you don’t place first?
Think about what you would like to get out of the competition. Past AUSACA groups have mentioned that they:

  • improved enormously just from being ‘competition-ready’
  • got to see the quality of other groups, and learn from what worked well
  • learned what they were doing well, and where they could improve from the judges’ feedback
  • benefitted from the workshops
  • enjoyed being a part of a national community of a cappella singers

2. Sing in the key of (G)rowth.
The biggest winners are the ones most open to feedback and improving their performance. That’s just as relevant to scientists as it is to singers, basketballers to beatboxers, quarter-backs to quartets (you get the picture). Feedback lets us know what we are doing well, which encourages us to do more of that. It can also provide us with clues and directions to follow to help take our performance to the next level.

3. All singers are winners; enjoy the ride!
We’re all fortunate to be a part of a community of singers who can support and encourage each other to enjoy singing. For some groups, just participating is a worthy goal. By participating, we get to be part of something bigger than our own group. From the rehearsals and backstage nerves to seeing your audience, we’re all on the same musical roller coaster, so we may as well enjoy the ride!

Categories
Live News Reviews Tour

REVIEW: Pentatonix

PENTATONIX (USA)
Atheneum Theatre
Melbourne
Australia
8pm
Saturday 23 August, 2014

Never have I experienced, nor do I think I will again, the sheer, unending excitement within a crowd than at Pentatonix’s first ever Australian show at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne last night.

In one word: flawless!

PTX encore

(Picture by Amelia Alder)

Not many artists can claim that they perform nigh completely perfectly with their top of the charts albums, but Pentatonix can definitely make that claim. This is an amazing testament to their vocal abilities.

Now some may ask – “If they’re so close to sounding like their album, why go see them?” – the answer is the show itself. Many of their well known songs began with little vamp sections that almost seemed improvised – each singer adding a little line or vocal lick and then before you know it Pentatonix have launched into their famous covers of Lorde’s ‘Royals’ or The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. Add in some choreography and each song becomes both a visual and an aural delight. Not to mention the banter between songs – from Mitch Grassi’s sass to Avi Kaplan’s bass talking (that honestly was sometimes easier to understand through bone induction than through my ears), each member of Pentatonix interacts with the crowd like they would with old friends.

I suppose that is the best feeling at a Pentatonix show – you feel like you are part of this close group of friends, sharing a cappella music together.

That’s actually the first time I’ve mentioned that this was a cappella. You’d not be remiss to say that you’d never be able to tell – even when, in Pentatonix’s pounding original ‘Natural Disaster’, the entire audience sang lines in perfect unison. I must say, I was happily surprised at the intonation of the crowd last night – I feel we could even go on tour with the group as backing singers for ‘Natural Disaster’.

At the end of the show, the calls for encore were so loud that the group did a double encore – bringing back ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘We Are Young’ – all belted to a crowd on their feet in a seating only venue. That is true acapower.

Musicianship:

Entertainment Value:

Production Elements:

PTX Cello

(Picture by Amelia Alder)

Extras: For those lucky enough to secure VIP tickets, before the show we were treated to seeing part of Pentatonix’s sound check, had a quick Q&A with them, followed by photos with the group and signings, as well as getting some VIP only merchandise. Being a bass singer in my own a cappella group, meeting my hero Avi was possibly the greatest moment of my young life so far. As a young student who works as a theatre technician, my final props go to the audio and lighting techs – they put on a hell of a spectacle, whilst keeping the volume perfect (even in the 5th row where I was lucky enough to be seated).

PTX run to you

(Picture by Amelia Alder)

Overall Impression:

Reviewer: Michael Honey

Learning the piano from the age of 6 and teaching himself guitar, Michael only discovered his love for singing and a cappella when his voice broke at the ripe old age of twelve. In the years after, Michael has sung with Victorian Opera, the Victorian Honour Choir, CHIME and youth ensemble Bacchanae, as well as forming a cappella group Verendum with his high school friends. Michael has dabbled in musical theatre, doing high school productions of Grease, Little Shop of Horrors and Les Miserables, but is finding his true calling in hip-hop music – taking command of the stage through rap features in a cappella arrangements. After teaching himself how to beatbox, Michael’s passion for vocal music took off in 2012, coinciding with forming pop a cappella group, Switch.

Check out our photo album on Facebook featuring pics from each of Pentatonix’s Australian performances including pics taken by The Idea of North!

Pentatonix are Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola
Pentatonix: Website | Youtube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

switch with ptx

Pentatonix with Switch (AUS-ACA: National A Cappella Championship – National Finalists)

Categories
News

Josh Groban – Vocal Australia Singers

Congratulations to the Vocal Australia Singers for their fantastic performance with Josh Groban in Perth tonight. The singers were selected from many of Perth’s top vocal groups including Vocal EvolutionHi-Jinx QuartetNaya Chorale and students from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and University of Western Australia.

 

Categories
Live News Reviews Tour

REVIEW: Naturally 7

NATURALLY 7 (USA)
ALL NATURAL TOUR
PALAIS THEATRE, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Saturday 26 May, 20:00

 

On a very cool Melbourne night at the Palais Theatre this month, I had the pleasure of seeing Naturally 7, the powerhouse vocal play (not a cappella!) group from New York City. Before the main act, the audience was treated to the percussive and innovative vocal soundscape styling of up-and-coming Brisbane act Tom Thum. The highlight of Thum’s 15 minutes of glory was his ability to manipulate his voice and microphone effects to produce an incredibly realistic horn sound, which, combined with his blues scale improvisation made by live-looping, proved to be a real crowd pleaser. It seemed the audience had never seen anything like it before. Thum displayed impressive stage-presence getting laughs almost every time he paused to talk… in a silly made up voice. Next time, will the real Tom Thum please stand up!

Now to the main act, the act we’d all been waiting for, the act which was discovered and pushed into the limelight by Mr. Michael Buble himself, Naturally 7. But before the show started, suspense of course had to mount, expectation had to rise and the crowed had to get amped… this all happened in the 10 minutes immediately after Thum had left the stage. After 50 minutes of crowd pleasing musack… jazz has never been so dull however, we were still waiting. Finally, after the technical difficulties had been sorted (not that we were told what happened!), the lights darkened, the ‘natural’ looking sign of Naturally 7 appeared and the vocal play had begun.

Musicianship:

Entertainment Value:

 

Production Elements:

The show started with their original track ‘Falling’ which transitioned into ‘Satisfied’, showcasing the outstanding booming Hops on bass who literally made the floor vibrate! The group showcased their incredible talent, not only as remarkable human musical instruments but their voices were put to the test with their operatic start to ‘Satisfied’. Naturally 7 are the absolute real deal in all aspects of vocal prowess. Exhibiting true artistry, the performance flowed timelessly. As soon as the main soloist, Polo, enveloped the crowd with ‘Broken Wings’, I was sold. This man can SING. The simplicity and effectiveness of Naturally 7’s choreography was showcased throughout and is something contemporary a cappella groups should take note of, in order to progress beyond the a cappella bob (step-together-step-together).

A complete and utter highlight of the night was the performance of what has become Naturally 7’s staple song, ‘Wall Of Sound’. This showcased the intricacies of vocal play as opposed to a cappella, as well as each individual’s unique talent. Roger’s effortless and stylish leadership, characterized by his suave glasses, shone through as he kicked off the opening rap; Warren was air-drumming to his fullest, giving the most lifelike vocal percussion I have ever heard; Rod and Dwight produced a horn section that even Louis would be proud of, whilst Polo displayed a disturbingly real distorted guitar sound and Hops continued to KILL on the low end.

A real highlight of the night came when Naturally 7 stepped away from the microphone as if to ‘prove’ to the audience that a cappella is the truest of vocal art forms and demonstrating that their natural singing ability can stand strong on its own merits. They performed an incredible medley of songs by Simon and Garfunkel to a near capacity crowd. Opening with ‘Sound of Silence’, then ‘Scarborough Fair’ and finally ‘April Come She Will’, the incredible arrangements paid true testament to the fact that honest musical complexity was still clearly evident amidst the bells and bright lights! As the show drew to an end the crowd wanted more, and ‘naturally’ they delivered! A stirring rendition of ‘As My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was followed by the big dance number ‘Ready or Not’, in which the audience was encouraged to dance along (although most already were), with Hops stepping forward for a vocal solo, galvanizing the room, leaving everyone’s entire body tingling.

Naturally 7 have once again proved themselves to be the group to watch at the forefront of the vocal world. It was an outstanding performance by one of the most innovative and exciting groups in the music industry today. Congrats!

Overall Impression:

Reviewer: Sam Fischer

Sam Fischer is a recording artist and singer/songwriter originally from Sydney Australia. Sam has been featured as a soloist in the New South Wales Department of Education ‘School’s Specatcular’, the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Festival and in the World Vision Charity Concert ‘Don’t Trade Lives’ at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Sam is 20 years old and currently studying in his second year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and sings with Berklee College of Music’s award winning a cappella group, Pitch Slapped.

Pitch Slapped WebsitePitch Slapped Facebook | Pitch Slapped Youtube | Pitch Slapped Twitter
Sam Fischer Youtube
 | Sam Fischer Facebook | Sam Fischer SoundCloud


Naturally 7
are Roger Thomas (musical director, arranger, 1st Baritone, Rap), Warren Thomas(percussion, guitar, clarinet, 3rd tenor), Rod Eldridge (1st tenor, scratching, trumpet), Napoleon (Polo) Cummings (4th Tenor, guitar), Dwight Stewart (2nd baritone, vocals, trumpet), Garfield Buckley (2nd Tenor, Harmonica) and “Hops” Hutton (Bass).

Naturally 7 Website | Naturally 7 YoutubeNaturally 7 Facebook | Naturally 7 Twitter