In the weeks leading up to A Cappella Palooza, Culture Editor Alison Nieto will be talking to each A cappella group to discuss their hopes and aspirations for this year’s concert. A cappella Palooza will take place on March 23, 2018. 

 

The Villanova Haveners were the the University’s first all-female a cappella groups on campus. They are a subset of the Villanova Voices, the University’s all female choir, and were founded in 1963 by a group of women who all hailed from New Haven, CT. Last semester, the group performed jams such as “Pretty Girl Rock,” by Keri Hilson and “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing,” originally performed by rock band Aerosmith, showing their diverse music tastes and ability.  

Without giving anything away, Victoria Mobilio, president of the Haveners, said that the group has “a really fun girl power song planned [to perform] that’s by a group I’m sure everyone will know.” Music director Hannah Snyder added that she is most excited to perform the closing song because she believes it encompasses how the Havs can sound great and also have a ton of fun with the songs they perform.

Talking about last semester’s setlist, Mobilio added that “Pretty Girl Rock” was the hardest to perform. “Because the song gets a bit repetitive, we had to try really hard to stay excited the whole time and add some different dynamics to various parts of the song,” she wrote. Snyder admitted that the most challenging song for her to perform was “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing,” (which was also Mobilio’s senior song) because of how complicated, but cool the arrangement was.

The Haveners rehearse three times a week, and Mobilio adds that rehearsal becomes more like a hang out and safe haven rather than a weekly commitment. “In addition to our dedication to the music we create, we are so dedicated to each other,” Snyder writes. 

Leading up to Palooza, Mobilio expresses the excitement surrounding the preparation for the event. “Perfecting the arrangements, the choreography and the dynamics may sound exhausting, but we get to push ourselves to become better singers and performers!” Mobilio writes. “I feel like every semester our group is getting better and better, and it feels so rewarding to be a part of that.”

 Snyder adds that “the best part about preparing for Palooza is getting to choreograph and also really being able to spend so much time perfecting the Palooza songs.” 

For a group that only added choreography and handheld microphones two years ago, they are excited about their performance style in more than one way. Snyder believes that one of the best things about the group is that “even though we’ve lost seniors and gained new members, who we are and what we’re about has stayed the same.” 

Mobilio emphasized her hope for the audience to be excited about the range of emotion in their set. “The audience can certainly count on being blown away by all seven groups, since we’ll all be working super hard to make sure this Palooza is the best one yet,” she said.