A Cappella Club

A cappella is a demanding and strenuous type of music group, only for those who are truly dedicated to singing. A cappella, for those who don’t know, is a form of singing in which there is no accompanying music to back up the singers. This means that the singers are all on their own to make their music sound flawless, with no other instruments to hide any potential mistakes. It’s a risk singers take to highlight their skill and achievements.

The a cappella club at IAR is led by Jack Dunphy, an eighth grader. He enjoys singing very much - after all, he did sign up for honors chorus for high school, is in our school musical, Cinderella, after scoring one of the two important male roles, and is in chamber singers. Music is a very special part of Jack’s life - so much so that he wanted to create a club to take it even further. So he did what any rational middle-school-musician would do and he started a club about it. Inspired by his past chorus teachers, Jack wants to pursue educating people in the art, so he can share his passion with others. He’s in charge of selecting all the music, grouping people with others in their vocal range, and teaching and perfecting every note in all the songs. His club is different than most other a capella clubs, though. According to Jack, there are under ten middle school a cappella clubs, let alone run by students.

I emailed Jack with interview questions, and he was gracious enough to reply to me with very thorough answers. What he loves best about his club is seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when they finish a piece of the music. Although he does admit it is very hard balancing all the music in his life, the a capella club, and being a full time student. He also has to deal with people quitting the club; he struggles with frequently rearranging groups and sometimes even going as far as forcing him to change up the music. Currently, he has nine girls that divide evenly into soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto groups, with each girl getting a group tailored to her vocal needs. In gratitude for him finding time in his busy schedule to reply to me, he asked me to shout out his nine singers, which I will gladly do. Some of the members are Leslie Arnold, Claire Brouillard, Fabiola “Fab” Carino, Kaitlyn Coleman, Elissa Frechette, Makayla Hart, Mia Kelley, Hannah, McCallum, Olivia Rose, Ari Sussman, and Angelina Yu.

All in all, Jack is proud of his efforts. As he puts it, “I think our school should be able to put more of a spotlight on the arts, and showcase the talent we have at our school.” In addition, Jack says, “I remember some of singers saying they haven't even been on stage, and saying they would never be able to sing in front of a crowd in a million years. Then three months later they walk on stage with confidence, nail their solo, and feel proud of it.” Jack couldn’t be happier with them, and they all hope to perform either in the small ensembles concert or for the school soon.