by Mia Ingui
Opinions Editor
iTunes, the College’s largest a cappella group dedicated to incorporating international tunes into its repertoire, held its first ever iTunes iCabaret on Saturday, Dec. 5. The evening was filled with solo acts from many of the iTunes members.
“In the past year, we’ve had more opportunities,” said Lauren Agho, a member of iTunes and a junior biology major with a specialization in psychology who organized the event. “We thought having a night to showcase our individual talents would be great.”
Since it was founded in 2007, iTunes has grown immensely and incorporated contemporary pop songs into its lineup, as well.
The iCabaret was filled with a variety of tunes from pop to Broadway to Frank Sinatra. The first act of the night was a group piece from all the iTunes members — the classic Christmas carol “Carol of the Bells.”
Junior Jordan Virgil started the evening off strong with an impeccable cover of “Still Hurting” from the Broadway musical “The Last Five Years.”
Next up was freshman Ian Gray, who followed Virgil with another song from “The Last Five Years” called “Shiksa Goddess,” an amusing lament in which Gray said anything goes, except for being Jewish.
After Gray was sophomore Emme Mcgilligan, who sang the tender and sweet Adele ballad “Make You Feel My Love.”
Members of iTunes then brought out an extra guitar microphone for the next act: junior Tim Smith singing and playing Panic! at the Disco’s “The Ballad of Mona Lisa.”
Next up was sophomore Taylor Solomon, whose crystal clear vocals shone on her rendition of “Arms” by Christina Perri.
The guitar mic was brought back up for freshman Amanda Hyland, who performed the iconic “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. She prefaced the song with a quick note, saying that this song held a special place in her heart, as it was the first one she ever performed to which the audience let out a collective, “Aw.”
Sophomore Mallory Ives took the stage next, accompanied by her brother on guitar. They performed “Just Ask” by Lake Street Drive.
To close the first act, freshman Joey Stambouly sang “Santeria” by Sublime.
The second act opened with senior Ally Marcino, who performed the smooth and soft “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. She gave a disclaimer at the beginning of her performance that “there is an 18-second musical interlude” and that “to the dismay of my family, I will dance through the entire thing.” She did.
Freshman Berto Crespo followed Marcino with the tender love song “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur.
Junior Tim Smith and his guitar took the stage again, this time to perform the Rascal Flatt’s ballad “Here’s to You.” He dedicated the song to his mom, which again caused the audience to “Aw.”
Joey Stambouly came back out onstage after Smith in a full suit, ready to now serenade the audience with Frank Sinatra’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and everyone swooned.
Solomon followed Stambouly with her second performance, “She Used to Be Mine” from the new Broadway musical “Waitress” — a sweet song that gave the audience chills.
To challenge Stambouly was Gray, whose second act of the night was Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.”
The last act before the group’s big finale was “Take Me or Leave Me” from the Broadway musical “Rent,” a big and belty number performed by Mcgilligan and Virgil.
The whole group then took the stage to perform the last number, Sia’s “Alive” arranged by former iTunes member and alumnus Cameron Schiff (’16) and featured soloist senior Derek Carper.
Agho, who organized the event, felt that the first ever iCabaret was a success.
“It went well,” Agho said. “Besides the Library closing announcements, all of the soloists were great and so was the turnout.”
This will not be the last iCabaret, according to Agho, who would like to make it a biannual event.
The iTunes’s Winter Concert is coming up on Sunday, Dec. 11, in Mayo Concert Hall.
