UNC Freshmen aspire to start new a cappella group

Joshua Brown and James Kuo tried their best to enter the storied UNC a cappella community, but there just wasn’t room.

So the two freshmen are starting their own music group instead.

“We realized that there was a lot of talent floating around, and we realized that we could do something with it,” Kuo said.

After being rejected at multiple auditions — there are at least 10 a cappella groups at UNC — Kuo and Brown decided to have auditions of their own.

They sent an informational flier for their group to the audition list for the UNC Walk-Ons and were stunned by the massive response, they said.

“A lot of the people that responded are more experienced than we are,” Brown said. “I might be the least-experienced person in the group.”

The group — still lacking a name — is currently holding auditions.

Kuo and Brown aren’t the first would-be a cappella performers to take initiative and start their own group.

The UNC Achordants, an all-male a cappella group, was formed in 2001 after founding members Arash Jahanian and Derek Vanderpool were rejected from a variety of campus vocal groups.

To be recognized by the University, the new group is required to complete a five-year plan outlining its purpose and plans for growth.

“Our warrant for existence is that the demand for seats in current a cappella groups is greater than the supply,” Brown said. “There are so many highly qualified, extremely talented people who didn’t get into a group because there just weren’t enough spots.”

Colin Iwanski, spokesman for the co-ed a cappella group Tar Heel Voices, can attest to an overwhelming number of auditions.

This year, 70 people auditioned for the group and only 6 were accepted, Iwanski said.

“The membership in the current groups is limited, and the demand to be in these groups has definitely gone up this year,” said Jon Curtis, associate director of student activities and organizations at the Student Union.

Kuo and Brown said their group will be co-ed, performing music from a broad range of musical genres.

“We’ll be doing everything from Ne-Yo to the Beatles to Beethoven,” Brown said.

Brown, of East Lyme, Conn., plays both piano and violin. Kuo also plays the piano, as well as the guitar and drums. He has worked as a local DJ in Raleigh and self-produced an album of piano improvisations.

Both basses, the group’s founders are looking for a healthy mix of vocal ranges.

“With any art form, you have to have balance,” Kuo said.

The two plan to arrange all of their own music.

“When you arrange music, you have to really get to know the song and think about what it would sound like with voices,” Kuo said.

“In the end, you just have to go on what sounds good.”

Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.