Spring Break
VoiceMale to perform in Boston
As the year approches its end, VoiceMale prepares to make an impact on both Brandeis and Boston audiences.
by Daniel D. Snyder
Associate Editor
Arts | 3/11/08
Posted online at 3:10 AM EST on 3/11/08
Last Saturday afternoon, the halls in the Slosberg Recital Hall echoed with the strains of Eric Clapton's "If I Could Change the World." Only it wasn't with the plucking of a guitar, but rather the harmonious voices of one of Brandeis' most admired a cappella groups, VoiceMale.
As the end of the year looms murderously on the horizon, Ben Gellman-Chomsky '08, Jonathan Shuster '08, Adam Barish '09, Noah Schnoll '09, Jordan Suchow '09, Doug Friedman '10, Simon Schreier '10, Dan Ding '11 and Adam Levine '11 are looking to make themselves heard, not just on campus, but in Boston as well.
Coming up on Saturday, March 15, VoiceMale will play what is likely to be one of, if not the, biggest shows of their career. At the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, in front of thousands, VoiceMale will compete against other college a cappella groups such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Logarithms for the chance to open for the famed group Rockapella the next day. Fortunately, those in attendance will not be the only ones to hear the performance. The event will also be broadcast live by the Emerson College radio station, WERS.
Two months later, on May 3, VoiceMale will be bringing the famed San Francisco a cappella group the House Jacks for a free show (with campus ID). Judging by the enthusiasm of Shuster, VoiceMale's president, it should be quite a show. "We sang with them in Albany and they were one of the best performances I've ever seen, a cappella or otherwise," he says.
In preparation for their final push, VoiceMale has been making rigorous preparations. "It's been intense. We normally rehearse about seven hours a week, and leading up to big shows, there are times when we just start adding rehearsals. I think we did about 15 hours one week," says Gellman-Chomsky, the group's tour manager.
Live performance, significantly more so than the studio, has always been the focus of VoiceMale and a cappella as a whole. "We don't just want to be a group that's really good in the studio. We want to be a group that's really good onstage and really entertains an audience. That's been a struggle of ours for a really long time, and we really try to balance those two," Shuster says. Fortunately, the studio aspect hasn't been neglected, as the band will soon begin recording a new CD with an expected fall '08 release.
When asked about the experience of performing with such a professional group, new recruits Levine and Ding were more than enthusiastic. "I've never been in anything quite like VoiceMale before. This is an incredible experience for me," Levine says. Nor do the pressures of such large-scale performances frighten them. Ding in particular shows no fear: "I don't get too nervous about big shows. I just try to feed off the energy. I've been performing musically all my life."
As for the two senior members, Shuster and Gellman-Chomsky, these events represent the end of a four-year journey for them, the only two remaining out of a first-year class of four. "If you told me three years ago that we'd get flown out to Arizona and sing for high schools and sing with the House Jacks, I wouldn't have believed you," says Gellman-Chomsky.
VoiceMale's semester show will take place May 2 in the Golding Autitorium.
As the end of the year looms murderously on the horizon, Ben Gellman-Chomsky '08, Jonathan Shuster '08, Adam Barish '09, Noah Schnoll '09, Jordan Suchow '09, Doug Friedman '10, Simon Schreier '10, Dan Ding '11 and Adam Levine '11 are looking to make themselves heard, not just on campus, but in Boston as well.
Coming up on Saturday, March 15, VoiceMale will play what is likely to be one of, if not the, biggest shows of their career. At the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, in front of thousands, VoiceMale will compete against other college a cappella groups such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Logarithms for the chance to open for the famed group Rockapella the next day. Fortunately, those in attendance will not be the only ones to hear the performance. The event will also be broadcast live by the Emerson College radio station, WERS.
Two months later, on May 3, VoiceMale will be bringing the famed San Francisco a cappella group the House Jacks for a free show (with campus ID). Judging by the enthusiasm of Shuster, VoiceMale's president, it should be quite a show. "We sang with them in Albany and they were one of the best performances I've ever seen, a cappella or otherwise," he says.
In preparation for their final push, VoiceMale has been making rigorous preparations. "It's been intense. We normally rehearse about seven hours a week, and leading up to big shows, there are times when we just start adding rehearsals. I think we did about 15 hours one week," says Gellman-Chomsky, the group's tour manager.
Live performance, significantly more so than the studio, has always been the focus of VoiceMale and a cappella as a whole. "We don't just want to be a group that's really good in the studio. We want to be a group that's really good onstage and really entertains an audience. That's been a struggle of ours for a really long time, and we really try to balance those two," Shuster says. Fortunately, the studio aspect hasn't been neglected, as the band will soon begin recording a new CD with an expected fall '08 release.
When asked about the experience of performing with such a professional group, new recruits Levine and Ding were more than enthusiastic. "I've never been in anything quite like VoiceMale before. This is an incredible experience for me," Levine says. Nor do the pressures of such large-scale performances frighten them. Ding in particular shows no fear: "I don't get too nervous about big shows. I just try to feed off the energy. I've been performing musically all my life."
As for the two senior members, Shuster and Gellman-Chomsky, these events represent the end of a four-year journey for them, the only two remaining out of a first-year class of four. "If you told me three years ago that we'd get flown out to Arizona and sing for high schools and sing with the House Jacks, I wouldn't have believed you," says Gellman-Chomsky.
VoiceMale's semester show will take place May 2 in the Golding Autitorium.
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