Acappellooza, Brandeis’ largest a capella event, was held in Schwartz 112 on Sunday, March 22, at 5:30 p.m. Organized by the Starving Artists a capella group, this showcase was the perfect look into the University’s  music scene. Brandeis currently has eight a capella groups, unique not only in their name choices but also in the genres they choose to perform. Sunday’s show started with Company B, who performed three songs instead of the normal two,  as it was their newbie debut. Company B is Brandeis’  oldest a capella group, established in 1984, performing classics and throwbacks since their origin. Up next was Rather Be Giraffes, otherwise known as RBG. Despite the corny jokes the emcee introduced them with, RBG’s two numbers showcased how cohesive they are as a group. Each member of the group, whether they are soloing or not, gives their all, producing wonderful songs. They first performed “Criminal,” originally performed by Fiona Apple, and soloed by Miriam Greenfield; then sang “Bite My Tongue,” originally performed by Wilt, soloed by Val Boyington ’27. RBG was a tough act for Starving Artists to follow, especially with the emcee’s hilarious hand-off of munchkins to Starving Artists in order to make them "Peckish Artists”. Starving Artists first performed “Dancing With the Devil,” originally sung by Demi Lovato, and soloed by Emily Confino-Miller ’26.  Confino-Miller blew us all away with her performance, seamlessly turning the mic on when it was handed to her. While that might have been an opportunity to flail, Confino-Miller and Starving Artists demonstrated professionalism. 

Their color-coordinated red and black outfits highlighted just how passionately they performed. Their closing number was a beautiful rendition of “October Sky,” originally sung by Yebba, soloed by Isi Bustos’ ‘28. Receiving an exorbitant amount of applause, Starving Artists left the stage for Voicemale to enter. Voicemale is Brandeis’s only all-male a capella group. Despite performing a Maroon 5 song first and garnering many cheers, Jack Gorman’s ‘27 “Zombie” by The Cranberries rendered the audience speechless. Halfway through the show at this point, Proscenium took the stage. Proscenium is Brandeis’ musical theater-focused a capella group, with both of their songs being Disney classics. Up The Octave then ran down the Schwartz stairs, first performing “Still Feeling You,” originally performed by Couch, and soloed by Sadie Crahan’ ‘27. This performance showcased UTO’s radiant energy, which was solidified by their pop princess medley. Instead of singing only one song for their second performance, UTO arranged a combination of female pop songs. With each song, a different member got to showcase their talent, singing an excerpt from songs ranging in artists from Remi Wolfe to Chappell Roan. With only two groups left to perform, Brandeis’ Jewish a capella group Manginah blew the audience away with their performance of the Hebrew song “Kshehalev Boche,” originally performed by Sarit Hadad, soloed by Allison Fuller’ ‘28. Fuller's beautiful vocals set a high bar for their second song, “Fireflies,” originally sung by Owl City, and soloed by Noam Levitt’ ‘27. Finally, Too Cheap For Instruments, had their newbie debut, performing “Rain,” “Closer to Fine” and “Running With the Wolves.” Be sure to mark your calendars for some of these amazing a capella groups' semester showcases! RBG: April 25, Starving Artists: April 19, Voicemale: April 25, UTO: April 25, Proscenium: April 29, Manginah: April 26