For Director Lora Slutsky '12, a cappella isn't just about singing. Ba'note, Brandeis' newly established all-female Jewish a cappella ensemble, is about community as much as it is about music. "My friends and I would celebrate the Sabbath every week by singing prayers together," Slutsky said. She explained that the weekly ritual encouraged the starting of the a cappella group. In fact, despite the 11-member ensemble's mix of different musical backgrounds, all the members are brought together by a similar religious background and a respect for Jewish practices.The group began informally in the spring of 2009, when Slutsky founded the group with the help of Aliza Sebert '12 and Michelle Kaplow '12, who now act as Ba'note's musical directors. They continued to sing in the fall of 2009, but the ensemble wasn't recognized officially as a club until this spring. Within the past few weeks, however, Ba'note has quickly worked toward becoming one of Brandeis' well-established a cappella ensembles. The group recently held auditions and gained an additional singer, Dafna Broekman '13. They also became a Hillel member group, joining Manginah and Jewish Fella Acappella as a cappella groups supported by Brandeis' largest student-run Jewish organization. Ba'note performed for Hillel's Shabbat dinner on Jan. 29, bringing live music to students in Upper Sherman.

"We've always wanted to be in an a cappella group, so we decided to start our own," said Sebert. "I've sung all my life, and I was in involved in a cappella in high school too, so music is definitely one of my passions." For Sebert, singing in Hebrew is a natural choice, as her main experience with choral music has been in Hebrew. Ba'note sings a combination of Hebrew and English songs, many of them carrying messages of community and family. One of their songs, "Chaverim," means "friends" in Hebrew and speaks of the meaning of friendship.

The ensemble is unique in that its songs are all arranged for either four-part harmony or harmony with three singers on the melody. What this means is that no singer will ever be singing a solo or performing a part alone, which adheres to a Jewish rule of modesty stating that no girl should ever sing alone in public. "We want to accommodate religious girls and their practices," said Sebert, explaining that Ba'note's musical direction respects the rule by never having a soloist stand in front of the rest of the singers. The result of this arrangement is a rich, choral sound for the group and another way to promote the group's emphasis on togetherness.

Ba'note's rehearsal process shows the members' commitment to each other as well. Before every rehearsal, one member is assigned to bring a fun activity to the group that will help them bond. "One time we did something where each person wrote their name on a piece of paper and passed it around," said Sebert. "Everyone would then write something nice about the person on the paper until we all had a compliment for every member." These activities serve to give members a time to relax from the stressful week while helping them build group cohesion. "We spend a lot of time together, so it's good to make sure we can work well together," said Slutsky. "And we're always excited about performing together as well."

Be sure to check out Ba'note's Youtube channel page at youtube.com/brandeisbanote as well as their performance March 13 at the Fourth Annual Jewish A Cappella Fest, hosted by Jewish Fella Acappella at 8 p.m. in the Sherman Function Hall.