On Sunday, March 8, at 5:00 p.m., two of Brandeis’ very own acapella groups had their newbie debut performances. Starving Artists and Rather Be Giraffes collaborated their debut performances, hosting this tradition in Cholmondeley’s in Usen Castle. The performance started with debut preformances Starving Artists and RBG presidents, Gianni Storti ’26 and Nicole Benton ’26, introducing their respective groups. RBG proceeded to clear the stage, and Starving Artists started with their three-song set. Their first song was “Breakeven,” originally performed by The Script, soloed by Storti and arranged by Ella Cookman ’26 and Hazel Drew ’28. Their second song was “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish, soloed and arranged by Drew. Here, the performance took a turn. Both of these songs displayed Starving Artists’ vocal strength and talents, but here is where the audience got a glimpse of the community within the group, watching the initiation of their newbie, Paris Weaver ’27. 

While everyone surrounding Weaver wore their Starving Artists logo shirts, she stood alone in the middle wearing a sweatshirt. At this point, chanting ensued to “take it off,” giving Weaver the spotlight to debut her very own Starving Artists shirt. With the audience cheering and laughing, the group’s last song began, choosing to sing their alumni song, “Before He Cheats,” by Carrie Underwood. At that point, it was time for Starving Artists to clear the stage, with RBG president Nicole Benton taking the microphone. While they could have gone straight into their set, she took a few moments to acknowledge the talent Starving Artists have and thanked them for collaborating with their newbie debuts. Despite these being two of many groups on campus vying for the talents of each Brandesian, there was an exorbitant level of respect and camaraderie displayed that afternoon. Handing the mic off, RBG’s first song was “Flesh and Bone,” originally sung by The Killers, soloed by Sarah Nesheim ’26. 

Continuing to display their abilities to perform very complex compositions, their second song was “Love Over Glory” by Zinadelphia, soloed by Mia Levine ’26. At this point, just like Starving Artists, RBG called each of their newbies to the center presenting them with a tie that reflected their individuality and personality. These three first-years, Hannah Chuh, Nicholas Huppman and Angelina Scaduto, were celebrated with personalized speeches and, of course, vibrant new ties to wear at all of their future performances. This initiation demonstrated the depth to which all members have taken the newbies under their wing and the time they spent getting to know one another. Their final song was a Billy Joel medley, giving each of the newbies a few seconds to demonstrate their talent. With the performance concluding, the audience erupted into applause and cheers, rushing to the stage to congratulate all of the performers. After this performance, The Justice spoke with the three newbies of RBG, Chuh, Huppman and Scaduto. Each of the three had distinct reasons for joining RBG: Chuh was drawn to their repertoire, Huppman heard they were one of the best groups and was amazed by the performance given during auditions and Scaduto had many friends already in the group. When asked how their newbie semester has been going, all three gave glowing reviews. RBG had a tour that served as a bonding retreat and allowed them to grow closer and really become integrated. All three plan to return to RBG next semester, expressing their gratitude for joining this family.