By Samantha Drumm
On Friday, February 6th, students from Dover-Sherborn, Medfield Middle, Medfield High, Westwood, Weston, and even Tufts University gathered, joined by a common passion—performing a full set of songs with only their voices.
The evening marked Medfield High’s Eighth Annual A Cappella Night, hosted by Medfield’s own Soundwaves and their fearless chorus leader, Anne Marie Tremblay.
After Medfield opened the evening with a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” the evening’s celebrations ensued.
Westwood’s ensemble, Passing Notes, was the first to perform, delivering covers of two familiar favorites—Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” and Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches”—bringing audience members to tap their feet to the beat.
Medfield Seniors Yasmina Bird and Sophia O’Toole took the stage as the evening’s emcees, peppering the breaks between each group's set with delightfully hokey puns, playing on the titles that each ensemble sang.
DS Al Coda, Dover-Sherborn’s own A Cappella group, followed up with a rendition of Lake Street Dive’s “Dance With A Stranger” and Daniel Ceaser’s “Best Part,” inspiring a feel-good sentiment among the audience.
With the help of their fellow students, Bird and O’Toole took the stage between performances to offer opportunities for audience participation that left the crowd in fits of adoring giggles.
Senior Ryan Small, Soundwaves’ resident beatboxer, taught the entire audience to beatbox before pulling up two eager volunteers to show off the skill. Another break in the music offered a few students the chance to show Medfield their moves with a thrilling dance battle.
Weston’s Town Criers inspired similar fits of giggles when they called Anne Marie Tremblay, Medfield’s Chorus Director, to sit center stage as the all-boys group delivered an impassioned love ballad. The audience didn’t attempt to suppress laughter as the song’s lead soloist stared up at Tremblay with mock-adoration as he took a knee.
Blake Middle School's Crescendos showed their budding talent with a cover of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.” Hopefully, some of the Crescendos are soon-to-be Soundwaves!
Medfield's own Soundwaves closed out the local students segment of the performance, with three consecutive performances with impressive execution in collaboration, vocals, and student-organized choreography. Students shifted methodically around the stage as lead soloist Annie Fratallilo was chased around the stage by a troop of well-sung zombies as the group covered “Thriller,” complete with the song’s creepy voiceover delivered by Conor Guiney that solidified the spooky mood. Students coupled up as Ava Morrison belted a heartfelt ballad before the students closed out the show with their cover of a Queen medley. The students fearlessly plunged into covering Queen’s masterpiece: Bohemian Rhapsody, pleasantly mashed with “Somebody to Love”. But the Performance wouldn’t be complete without the astounding choreography, organized by the evening’s emcees, who both starred as soloists for the song.
After the students had taken their seats, Tufts University’s Beezlebubs headlined the evening, inspiring students and audience members alike. The Beezlebubs’ ability to synchronize vocals, choreography, and a spark of casual comedy as natural performers showed us all the rewards of sticking with performing A Cappella.
The Beezlebubs were not only thankful for their audience but also grateful to be greeted with so much budding talent from the previous performances.
“I would never have had the confidence to do this at your age,” said one Beezlebub as he took the center stage. “It’s so inspiring to see young people pursuing their hobbies and their dreams.”
It’s more than safe to say Medfield’s eighth A Cappella Night was an inspiring success. Though the event won’t recur until this time next year, it will be well worth your time to keep an eye out for upcoming events and plan to be in attendance to see the groups gather again next year.
Future event information can be found in the Hometown Weekly’s Community Calendar; we hope to see you in attendance!
