Last Sunday, five a cappella groups from Boston-area colleges—as well as The Poor Richards, who hail from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.—performed in the Golding Auditorium as part of Starving Artists' first annual Acatoberfest.

The Poor Richards; Vocal Suspects from University of Massachusetts-Amherst; the M&Cs from Mount Holyoke College; and the Treblemakers and Distilled Harmony, both from Boston University, gave performances that included a variety of R & B, pop, spiritual, Broadway, hip-hop and funk songs.

"We always learn from other groups when we listen to a cappella," says Starving Artists Events Coordinator Ellyn Getz '13, who organized the event. "We put a lot of focus into our dynamics and blend, and hearing other groups that have mastered that meticulous task in a piece of music is extremely noteworthy and impressive. There's always room for growth."

Seeing groups from other schools perform not only gave the a cappella singers at the event a wider perspective of collegiate a cappella but also created a musical bond not found at regular coffeehouses, which don't usually specialize in only a cappella. When Boston Unversity's Treblemakers announced that it was one of their singers' birthdays, Starving Artists pointed out that Marlee Rosenthal '14 was also celebrating her birthday.

The result? An impressively unified chorus of "Happy Birthday," complete with four-part harmony and attention to dynamics. For a moment, everyone in the room relished in the fact that they were all singers.

Each group seemed to save its best song for last, such as Distilled Harmony's energetic and hilarious Styx medley in the final act of its show. The singers' exaggerated gestures in "Mr. Roboto" and "Come Sail Away" filled the room with laughter.

Getz is excited to continue the tradition of bringing outside groups to campus. "I'm extremely pleased with the turnout for our first Acatoberfest," she says. "Groups have already contacted Starving Artists asking to be a part of the festival next year, and I was also able to speak with administrators at Brandeis about allocating more funding as we continue to host off-campus groups. The event was an overall success, and I look forward to SA continuing the tradition next year."

Getz started Starving Artists' concluding set with a bang with a solo in Heather Small's "Proud." Abby Armstrong '13, who was responsible for contacting the groups at Acatoberfest; Lisa Berger ‘12, who soloed in Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats"; and Jordan Brown '12, who had dyed red hair that matched the group's black and red outfits, also gave memorable performances to close the show.

"I always knew that a cappella was something that I wanted to get involved with at college," says Getz, who looks forward to next year's Acatoberfest. "There's something about the fusion of voices that truly brings depth and candor to a song."