Leaders of the Pack

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Author: Emery Desper

The Occidental Glee Club helped ring in the Homecoming celebration on November 2 in Thorne Hall. In addition to celebrating the return of Glee Club alumi, the group was also marking their 101st year at the College.

The audience enjoyed what Director Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein said was a “preview for their holiday concert series,” due to take place in December. The concert began with a beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria” composed by Jacob Arcadelt. Following the “Ave Maria,” the group performed “Dixit Maria” and “Gloria,” matching the beauty and precision of the first piece.

Moving away from their classical direction, the Accidentals, Occidental’s all-women, student-led a cappella group, preformed four contemporary songs complete with plenty of drama and matching dance moves. These fun, light-hearted selections were crowd-pleasers and had the audience tapping their feet and bobbing their heads. “Leader of the Pack,” led by soloist Claire O’Connell (sophomore), was particularly engaging and perhaps the group’s best song.

Director of the Accidentals Carrie Wade (sophomore) thought the concert was a great experience for the group. “We took on some really difficult repertoire, especially for early in the year, and our success in performing it was a big accomplishment,” Wade said. “I’m extremely excited to see where the Glee Club, Accidentals, and Cadence can go from here since we started off the year so strongly.” These women are dynamic and the year is sure to bring more successful performances.

Following the Accidentals was Cadence, the men’s a cappella group. Led by Stephen Bent (junior), these gentlemen stole the show with every piece. “I couldn’t be prouder of Cadence . . . We rocked Homecoming pretty hard but we’re already at work taking it to the next level,” Bent said.

Mieczyslaw Daniel blew the crowd away while he belted out a heartfelt version of “Free Falling,” complete with Cadence members beat-boxing along with him. Noah Tovares (first-year) sang the trendy love song “Hey there Delilah,” but Cadence’s best number was “That Thing You Do.” Accompanied by calculated dance moves and dramatic facial expressions to match, Cadence brought the 50s back to Oxy and took the audience right along with them.

The Glee Club closed out the night by inviting Glee Club alumni on the stage to sing the “Football Medley” and “Occidental Fair.” Anyone present could sense the school spirit, and in that moment the audience was proud to be a part of the Oxy tradition. The Glee Club put together an excellent show that was entertaining and well-executed.

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