The Davis group’s annual HellaCappella event to be held on April 19
By NOAH HARRIS — features@theaggie.org
UC Davis’ all-female a cappella group, The Spokes, will be performing at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on April 19 for HellaCappella, an event held annually featuring a cappella groups from across the West Coast. For fans of “Pitch Perfect,” this event may serve as an opportunity to live vicariously through collegiate performers.
HellaCappella, which The Spokes call “the West Coast’s premier a cappella showcase,” is an event hosted every year by The Spokes that features several other a cappella groups from UC Davis, as well as other universities across the West Coast. It will be the 21st edition of HellaCappella and will feature seven a capella groups in total.
In the months leading up to HellaCappella, The Spokes have held rehearsals multiple times a week. During their time together, they practice both the songs they will perform and the dances to accompany those songs.
Unlike the Barden Bellas from “Pitch Perfect,” their rehearsals are free of drama, with most critiques coming in the form of suggestions. At the beginning of their practices, they start by doing “Roses and Thorns” — a reflective, check-in activity where “roses” are a positive and “thorns” are a negative — before starting their rehearsal with a full run-through of a song they have been preparing.
Nandini Rai, the president of The Spokes, explained how special it is that HellaCappella is being hosted at the Mondavi Center.
“We got really lucky because I think maybe 10 or 15 years ago, someone in the group had a connection with Mondavi,” Rai said. “That’s why we’re the only a capella group that puts on our show in the Mondavi.”
Johanna Kapsis, the vice president of The Spokes, provided some insight into the event.
“It’s one of Mondavi’s biggest shows of the year, which is really exciting for us,” Kapsis said. “It’s very high energy, so people who come are very often just really engaged and clapping and shouting.”
While “Pitch Perfect” will inevitably come up when thinking about an a capella group, Kapsis sees a benefit within that fact.
“Honestly, I think we try to generally lean into it,” Kapsis said. “‘Pitch Perfect’ is a really good movie and I think by mentioning ‘Pitch Perfect,’ it kind of draws people in because that’s what they know of. We’re an all-female-identifying a cappella group who sings pop music and we compete just like the Barden Bellas.”
Natalie Dennis, the music designer of The Spokes, shared what she expects to feel after the group performs at HellaCappella.
“I’m expecting to cry at the end of it, because it’s just like, a lot of the hard work we put throughout the year is just in this show,” Dennis said.
Besides HellaCappella, the other main event for The Spokes is the annual International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) tournament — the same one shown in “Pitch Perfect.” Last year, the group finished in second place.
“Whenever we compete at ICCA, [it] feels like I’m living like real-life ‘Pitch Perfect,’” Rai said.
Dennis described how she feels onstage in front of the audience and The Spokes’ goal for ICCA, where they finished second in their region the previous year.
“I black out on stage,” Dennis said. “I don’t remember a single thing. The goal is to do the best we can. Obviously with the pressure of placing in second place last year, it fuels a little bit more fire. But I think like my attitude going into it, especially as a leader, [is that] we’re going to do the best we can.”
Every year, The Spokes holds auditions in spring quarter that are based just as much on personality as musical ability.
“It’s just a lot of commitment in general,” Rai said. “I think some people join the group and aren’t fully aware of how much of a time commitment this is, but it kind of pays off. But I would also say, if you want to meet people that could literally become like your family and your best friends — like [Johanna Kapsis], I met her through The Spokes and [now she] and I are president and vice president together. But we’re also best friends, outside of The Spokes.”
Tickets for HellaCappella are available on The Spokes’ website.
Written by: Noah Harris — features@theaggie.org
