UNL a cappella community strikes a chord

The best way to describe the a cappella groups at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is through the metaphor of siblings, according to Olivia Palmer, a junior and member of Pitch Please.

Palmer acknowledged how the groups compete in the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), but that isn’t the determining factor of the groups’ relationships.

“You compete against your brothers and sisters, but like at the end of the day, you love them and like they're going to be there no matter what,” Palmer said. “When we all come together it's so much fun.”

Palmer recalled how excited Pitch Please was the a cappella group, Bathtub Dogs, won the award for outstanding choreography at the ICCAs in 2022.

“We're all just sitting there so excited to watch each other and see [the groups] do well,” Palmer said. “It was semifinals in Arizona, and [Bathtub Dogs] won Best Choreography; We were just so pumped for them.”

The camaraderie that Palmer explained during the ICCAs goes well past the competition. According to freshman and member of Pitch Please, Lilly Ginsburg, the a cappella groups were extremely welcoming as she entered her first year at UNL.

“There is a strong bond between all of the a cappella groups on campus,” Ginsburg said.

Palmer said that she didn’t know what to expect when she joined Pitch Please her freshman year—specifically the inclusivity of all of the groups.

“I didn't think when I joined Pitch Please that would it would be as welcoming within the whole community,” Palmer said.”Because, typically, like in high school show choir it's very divided.”

Palmer explained the various divides commonly seen in high school choir groups and how those are extremely different than the choir community at UNL.

“The varsity group is one group, and the girls group is one group, and the JV group is one group,” Palmer said about the divide of choir groups in high school. “I think that's the thing that I love about our community is we're all we're all on the same level. We'll all interact with each other.”

Palmer said that this space is where she is creating lifelong friendships. She even noted how one of her coworkers married someone they met in Pitch Please, highlighting the uniqueness of a cappella.

“It's so cool to be like ‘you were in Pitch Please? I am in Pitch Please,’” Palmer said. “Like ‘oh my god, you were in the same acapella group as me.’ You continue having those bonds and continue making those connections, and I think it's just so cool. I think it's just like such a unique

thing.”

The community of a cappella at UNL focuses on inclusivity and lifelong friendships as they make music, according to Palmer. She summed up the experience of UNL’s a cappella community as a cool and life-changing experience.

“You get the chance to not just like make music but to make lifetime friends with people that can change your life,” Palmer said.