The members of The Trentones, the College's a capella vocal group, are on their way to competing for the opportunity to showcase their talents at the Varsity Vocals International Championship of A Cappella. The final round of the competition is held at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts where groups compete for cash prizes and the coveted title of Grand Champion.
The Trentones are part of the Mid-Atlantic Region and will be competing against such schools as Rutgers and Penn State universities for a spot in the Mid-Atlantic semi-final held at Rutgers on April 5.
"To apply for the competition, we had to submit live, unedited recordings of three of our songs," The Trentones' musical director Patrick Lavery said. "These recordings were then judged, and we were selected to compete. The recordings could include a vocal percussionist, but they must not contain any additional instruments except our voices."
The Trentones have not been preparing solely for the competition. The group performs at many events throughout the year and they usually prepare for each event as it draws closer. However, it seems entering this type of competition was inevitable.
"I will say that over the past three years we've been trying to steer the group in the direction of competing in a contest like this," Lavery said. "We're all very excited."
Currently there are 21 members of The Trentones, but the group is always looking for new members in order to develop its sound. Auditions are held every September, and sometimes in January at the beginning of the Spring semester.
According to Lavery, the group's set list changes every year but has several staples that it performs, including "All These Things I've Done" by the Killers, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by the Darkness, and "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey during holiday concerts. At a Trentones concert this semester, audiences will be treated to a capella renditions of "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, "Babylon" by David Gray, and "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5.
The Trentones do not have a final song list for the competition and there is a bit of anxiety, which is to be expected. "I do think that everyone feels at least some pressure to perform well and a little nervousness," Lavery said. "It feels great to have gotten into the competition. I've personally never done anything like this before, so it'll be a new experience."
