Take away the musical instruments. Take away the speakers, lights and microphones. And what’s left echoing through the EMU Amphitheater every Wednesday afternoon are the voices of “On the Rocks,” a 10-member male a cappella group.
The student-run choir group puts school and work aside two times a week — for anywhere from five to seven hours — to do what they said they love and do best.
Peter Hollens and Leonardo Silva, the founders and co-presidents of the group, started “On the Rocks” spring term last year. The group expanded from the original six members to 10 at the beginning of this school year.
The guys bring music to practices, including popular songs they hear off the radio, songs they have sung before in other choirs plus their own arrangements of music. Some of their crowd pleasers include a Britney Spears medley arranged by Ben Emerson, who sings tenor I and II, along with Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” and Rockapella’s “Change in My Life.”
The group sang their own arrangement of the national anthem at the men’s Arizona basketball game. They have also performed at the Youth Against Hate Crimes Convention and in the EMU Breezeway.
And when the sun came out Wednesday, the EMU Amphitheater filled with laughter and applause of delighted students listening to the guys perform.
Hollens, a junior who sings tenor I, said the members of “On the Rocks” are working on trying to interact more with their audience. The group is also becoming more comfortable entertaining in public.
“The more we perform, the more we get into the act,” Hollens said.
Omar Qutub, who had heard the group perform in the past, came back for more this week.
“Their sound is totally original,” said Qutub, a junior biology major. “The guys are original, and they have a good variety of music.”
Joanna Chan, a sophomore sociology major, said she saw the crowd and started listening.
“It just sounds good, and it’s all natural. There’s nothing helping them. It’s all their voices,” Chan said. “This was officially the highlight of my day.”
Silva, who sings baritone, came to the United States two years ago from Brazil expecting to find an a cappella group he could join. But when Silva realized what he was looking for didn’t exist, he and Hollens decided to start their own group.
Silva, a junior music technology major, said the group offers an accurate picture of a cappella singing while serving musical and entertainment functions.
The group was one of six quarter-finalists from the Western region at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competition. Inspired by the other groups they heard at the competition, the members upped their singing intensity and focus, and increased their number of gigs to at least one per week.
“No matter how I feel, whenever I go to rehearsal, I end up being very glad I’m in the group,” said Jason Johnson, who sings tenor I and II.
Johnson said the group’s music selections range from gospel and classical to bebop. Johnson said every song takes experimentation, along with trial and error.
Johnson, a junior music education major, said the challenge of singing a cappella is that it’s easy to go out of tune without backup instruments. He said another obstacle in singing a cappella is to not take obvious breaths.
“It can be wearing on your voice,” Johnson said.
Peter Vomocil, who sings bass II, said that because they sing a cappella, they often have to create instruments with their voices.
“We have to back ourselves up vocally,” Vomocil said. “For some people it’s natural.”
Silva said he and Tyler Boeh offer the group vocal percussion, a skill that involves a lot of air and practice.
“Vocal percussion uses parts of the mouth, lips and nose all together in ways that you don’t usually use to sing,” Silva said.
Vomocil, who has been singing since second grade, said for him, the group is not only a hobby but something he loves that’s outside of his daily routine.
“We do what we like to sing,” said Vomocil, a junior theater arts major. “We are self-motivated, self-taught and self-directed, and that gives us flexibility to do what we want.”
Vomocil also stressed the fact that all the members, despite their diverse interests, are joined by a passion and love for music.
“There is so much individuality in the group,” Vomocil said. “Everyone brings their own strengths to the group. We may not have necessarily all crossed paths without the group.”
Hollens said many of the members of the group have background talent from other choirs, such as the University Gospel Choir and Chamber Choir, along with training from private voice lessons.
“On the Rocks” will be singing at 3:45 p.m. every Wednesday spring term in the EMU Amphitheater. More information about fall term auditions is available at www.uoontherocks.com.