A few months ago, local a capella group Alaskapella got some unexpected news: they\u2019d been invited to Carnegie Hall to perform with singers from around the world. Only thing was, they hadn\u2019t even auditioned.<\/p>\n
At first, group founder and acting president Kristina Paulick thought it was a scam. Then she did some checking and saw someone she\u2019d met \u2014 Deke Sharon, a singer she met in Juneau when his group, the House Jacks, performed \u2014 was associated with the concert, called \u201cTotal Vocal\u201d and put on by Distinguished Concerts International: New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes out and we\u2019re like \u2018Whaaaaat?\u2019\u201d said Richard Ringle, president of the group. \u201cKristina\u2019s like \u2018I did some checking, guys, this is a real thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the members are sticking around specifically for the concert.<\/p>\n
Andre Bunton has been performing with the group his entire college career \u2014 and, now, after it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI jumped into college and I was like \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m ready to study, I\u2019m ready to have fun, and I\u2019m ready to sing!\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Then he realized UAS didn\u2019t have a music program. He was thinking about starting his own club when he heard Paulick talking in the cafeteria about the group.<\/p>\n
Now a UAS graduate and the bass section leader, he\u2019s putting off his master\u2019s degree for one year to sing with the group and travel with them to Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n
Michael Rease Guggenbickler, who goes by \u201cGugg,\u201d had planned to take a year off from school when Ringle called him to let him know about Carnegie Hall. Now, Gugg will go from performing at \u201ca talent show at school to one of the world\u2019s centers of culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the majority of Alaskapella\u2019s members are UAS students, many \u2014 now including Paulick herself, who has graduated \u2014 are not. Fifteen of the group\u2019s members, including non-students, are heading to Carnegie Hall, and though UAS has been \u201camazing,\u201d Paulick said, University of Alaska rules don\u2019t allow them to fundraise through the university for a trip that includes non-students.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, (Alaskapella) is just kind of an amalgamation of the community of Juneau,\u201d she said of the group.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t think it was fair to only send students, so they\u2019re fundraising independently (though an Indiegogo page they plan to put online in the next few weeks, after they finish a video), through the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, and through donations at their concerts. (Checks have to be written to the JAHC, with a memo line noting that it\u2019s intended specifically for Alaskapella, or the Alaskapellicans, the group\u2019s members.)<\/p>\n
They\u2019re trying to raise about $30,000.<\/p>\n
To listen to the Alaskapellicans practice, or perform, is to realize the reason your face hurts is you\u2019ve been grinning so long. They\u2019re a group of fun people having fun, and it comes through in their performance.<\/p>\n
Some of them have backgrounds in different instruments. Chris Pierce, interim president of the group, played trumpet for eight years in high school band. Denali Wentz played in the Juneau Symphony; this is the first group he\u2019s sung with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been out of the music scene for a while, and I wanted to get back into it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor singing, you\u2019re largely building your instrument,\u201d said group member Em Rademaker. \u201cWith an instrument \u2026 you\u2019re adapting to it. With singing, your instrument is adapting to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith singing, you can be constantly be practicing your instrument simply by talking,\u201d Bunton said. \u201cAnd with a capella music, often you\u2019re trying to simulate sounds that are not from the voice \u2026 that adds a whole other level to singing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how hard you try, your trumpet is going to sound like a trumpet,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cWith singing \u2026 you can change the tone of your voice so much more, and so much easier than you can with an instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re next giving a concert of Pixar and Dreamworks songs at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in UAS\u2019 Egan lecture hall. The concert is free, though they\u2019re accepting donations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love to sing for people, so we want people to come to the concert, because then we\u2019ll get to sing for them. We want to share our group with anybody that wants to come,\u201d Bunton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis group has been found, and that\u2019s the coolest thing,\u201d Paulick said.<\/p>\n
Find out more at https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Alaskapella.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Capital City Weekly staff writer Mary Catharine Martin at maryc.martin@capweek.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"