Group Structure and Culture
Most collegiate a cappella groups, whether all-male, all-female, or mixed, share similar traits. The groups often benefit from the talent of non-music majors who have significant experience with music, choral singing, or both. Participation in such groups provides both a social and creative outlet for students who are pursuing other academic fields. Groups are generally self-sustaining and often entirely run by students. Some groups receive financial support from their educational institution while others are entirely self-supporting.
Unlike professional groups, which typically have four to seven members, collegiate groups typically perform with eight to sixteen members, with full group rosters measuring up to 30 members in some cases. This large roster size is often driven by necessity, as college groups tend to see high turnover due to graduation and changing student commitments. A large member count enables a group to maintain continuity over time and it also affects the group's aural aesthetic. For example, a large group may be able to perform arrangements that have more than a dozen separate parts, an impossible feat for smaller groups.
Some groups record albums of their music, typically at intervals of two or three years. The quality of such albums has recently improved markedly due to an increased focus on multi-track recording and the emergence of professional a cappella production specialists. Achievements in collegiate a cappella recording are recognized by awards programs (e.g., the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, awarded by CASA) and compilation albums, such as the long-running Best of College A Cappella series.
Many college groups compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), an annual nationwide competition.
Read more about this topic: Collegiate A Cappella
Famous quotes containing the words group, structure and/or culture:
“Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot—a sense of collective participation, experience with organizational roles, and group support in the enterprise of growing up. Groups also pose for the child some of the most acute problems of social life—of inclusion and exclusion, conformity and independence.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“Agnosticism is a perfectly respectable and tenable philosophical position; it is not dogmatic and makes no pronouncements about the ultimate truths of the universe. It remains open to evidence and persuasion; lacking faith, it nevertheless does not deride faith. Atheism, on the other hand, is as unyielding and dogmatic about religious belief as true believers are about heathens. It tries to use reason to demolish a structure that is not built upon reason.”
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986)
“When women finally get liberated, they’ll do the same that men do—dog eat dog— that’s what our culture is.... Not cooperation but assassination. Women will cooperate until they attain certain goals. Then one will begin to destroy the other.”
—Alice Neel (1900–1984)