After her audition on Wednesday night for the Trentones, Carly Cosentino, junior chemistry major, admitted to being nervous.
But who wouldn't be? The Trentones, the College's a capella group, sing without instruments, leaving performers with nothing to define them but their god-given voices. Few people have the nerves to sing karaoke, so one can only imagine the paranoia and stress that comes with singing in front of a group of trained vocalists during an audition
The Trentones had already given out 60 copies of their music to help interested people prepare for the auditions the following week. That, however, was only a small part of the process. After each hopeful declared the type of singer they were (tenor, base, soprano, etc.), each sang a song of their choice, a la American Idol, to the group, who listened and took notes.
Then the Trentones tested the auditioneers' abilities to identify the middle chord in a series, played on a piano by music director Pat Lavery, followed by a test of "tonal memory." This activity required people to sing back a series of notes played for them. Afterward, a person was allowed to sing "Lonesome Road" with the rest of the group. When the song ended, the audition was over.
As if the audition process does not seem rigorous enough, the Trentones are also bound for a national competition.
Despite the upcoming competition, vice president John Dutton felt that it should not affect who made the cut. The Trentones were looking for new members, considering the national competition as a mere "bonus" for the group.
"Some of the students auditioning felt the same excitement.
Matt Persico, freshman English education major, could not help but beam after his audition. He had wanted to try out for months, and after hearing about nationals he had become only more excited. Many other students, like Cosentino, admitted to feeling a little high strung before their auditions.
That feeling, though, was easily wiped away by the easy-going attitude presented by the Trentones.
Overall, the auditions seemed to be a success. The Trentones gave out 60 song sheets at the student organization activities fair two weeks ago. Almost half of the people who took them returned to test their skills and to give singing a capella a shot. It would seem that the Trentones have an immense amount of talent to choose from.
The Trentones ultimately selected five new members from Wednesday's talent pool. They had previously expected to take on two new vocalists.
