Cadence president unites group beyond a cappella

Like many other UNC students, senior Kailey Trieger is busy. Her schedule consists of class, homework, exercise, balancing friendship and more.

But what takes up a lot of her time are rehearsals on Sunday and Wednesday nights, various gigs throughout the week and particularly this week, rehearsals every night before the concert on Friday.

Trieger is president of Cadence, an all-female a cappella group.

“A lot of my nights are occupied by Cadence,” she said.

“Whether it’s learning music on our own or rehearsing with the whole group, my nights are kind of reserved for them.”

Trieger said everyone in the group has roles to fill, and her job is more on the administrative side of things, making sure jobs don’t go unfinished.

But first-year Lillie Wright said Trieger’s commitment to Cadence is one of the many things that makes her stand out as a leader.

“She is very present with the group, and she’s very open with us with everything that is going on,” Wright said.

“It’s my first semester in Cadence, and coming in new, or as we call them ‘noodles,’ she was very welcoming and made me feel a part of this very cohesive group at a very early point.”

Senior Susanna Trotter said Trieger’s four years in Cadence set her apart.

“She has definitely seen the ups and the downs and all the turnover of Cadence and has really gotten to know what works and what doesn’t work,” she said.

“She’s been in it since the second week of college, so it’s definitely a big part of her life as much as she is a part of Cadence.”

Wright has found that Cadence is not only a group to sing with, but thanks to Trieger, a group of friends to do things with outside of rehearsals and performances.

“I think that she grounds us very well. We were talking about what kind of image we want to present and generally making it not just a group of people that sing together, but also a group of people that really enjoy spending time together,” Wright said.

Trieger also stood by the idea that Cadence is so much more than a singing group, with the social aspect of it being very central to the group’s identity as well.

“Most of the girls in the group would consider Cadence to be a core group of friends overall,” she said.

“I mean, we all love to sing and we’re all bound by being in a group with this one goal but, ultimately, it’s our family at Carolina, so we like to hang out.”

Trieger talked about the importance of Cadence in her life and the many lessons she has learned throughout her career in the group.

“I think the best part about Cadence is there is a chance I wouldn’t be friends with these people if I hadn’t been in this group just because we live different lives and do different things,” she said.

“But, it really brings together a random group of people and teaches you how to work well with each other.”

@maggsmouat

arts@dailytarheel.com