Spring Break
Summer Song Birds
All-female a cappella group, Cape Harmony, turn into local celebrities on Cape Cod.
by Daniel D. Snyder
Associate Editor
Features | 7/12/07
Posted online at 1:27 AM EST on 8/28/07
Though the mention of Cape Cod is likely to illicit images of white houses on whiter beaches, the reality is far from a Massachusetts take on the Hamptons. The city of Hyannis, nestled on the Cape's southern elbow, is littered with patches of rundown, rot-sodden houses. Yet along one of these unassuming streets, from a modest, almost quaint wooden house, there wafts the sweet melodies of Cape Harmony, Cape Cod's self-proclaimed "premier all-female a cappella group." The group, which has included several Brandeis students since its inception, began only two years ago, and has since worked its way from relative obscurity to celebrity status-at least locally.
University of Connecticut alumna Melissa Paul '06 one day simply decided that since there were no female a cappella groups on Cape Cod, she would start one. She contacted the a cappella community of the Northeast, and before you could blow a pitch pipe, auditions were held on the Boston University campus. Jennifer Sheehan '09 and Drew Sambol '09 both made the cut and became two founding members in the summer of 2006.
As total unknowns, the group of nine college students initially faced numerous challenges. "No one knew about us. We had to go out and make it on our own. Learning the material, holding down jobs, and promoting ourselves at the same time," Sheehan said. Indeed, the girls had to work non-stop in order to establish a foothold in the area. Living in one less-than-ample house, working a variety of jobs from bank tellers to ice cream scoopers, all with different hours, they still managed to rehearse for at least four hours a day. Even with such an intense schedule, the group still fit in a minimum of two shows each week, adopting a guerilla-style mentality, singing anywhere they could to anyone who would listen and hand them a paycheck.
Musically, Cape Harmony performs a wide variety of material from 80's hard rock (Def Leppard) to British soul (The Foundations), using both original and borrowed singing arrangements. In order to appeal to the many different audiences on the Cape, the group's musical selection policy is divided into percentages (25 percent pre-1970's, etc.). The policy has since proved itself necessary, as the group have frequently found themselves in front of a diverse set of audiences, whether its opening for Livingston Taylor or the Air Force Academy band.
University of Connecticut alumna Melissa Paul '06 one day simply decided that since there were no female a cappella groups on Cape Cod, she would start one. She contacted the a cappella community of the Northeast, and before you could blow a pitch pipe, auditions were held on the Boston University campus. Jennifer Sheehan '09 and Drew Sambol '09 both made the cut and became two founding members in the summer of 2006.
As total unknowns, the group of nine college students initially faced numerous challenges. "No one knew about us. We had to go out and make it on our own. Learning the material, holding down jobs, and promoting ourselves at the same time," Sheehan said. Indeed, the girls had to work non-stop in order to establish a foothold in the area. Living in one less-than-ample house, working a variety of jobs from bank tellers to ice cream scoopers, all with different hours, they still managed to rehearse for at least four hours a day. Even with such an intense schedule, the group still fit in a minimum of two shows each week, adopting a guerilla-style mentality, singing anywhere they could to anyone who would listen and hand them a paycheck.
Musically, Cape Harmony performs a wide variety of material from 80's hard rock (Def Leppard) to British soul (The Foundations), using both original and borrowed singing arrangements. In order to appeal to the many different audiences on the Cape, the group's musical selection policy is divided into percentages (25 percent pre-1970's, etc.). The policy has since proved itself necessary, as the group have frequently found themselves in front of a diverse set of audiences, whether its opening for Livingston Taylor or the Air Force Academy band.
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