This year, in lieu of a regular spring concert, The Colgate Dischords held an a cappella invitational. The concert was momentous, bringing together so many talented groups from the surrounding area, and marking the seniors’ last major concert with the Dischords. It was also an excellent way for the Dischords to celebrate their 13th year as a musical group on campus. It created an opportunity to bring new talent and entertainment to Colgate, while also showing off all the hard work the Dischords have been doing this semester.

The invitational included four different groups from other schools in the Central New York area. The event took place Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m. in the Colgate Memorial Chapel, and it was co-sponsored by Philanthropists at Colgate (PAC). Junior Mac Baler hosted, providing comedic relief to offset the excellent vocal skills of the performers. A portion of the proceeds went to benefit the Hamilton Center for the Arts for the purpose of helping students attend summer camp.

 The show opened with the Dischords performing their first set. They wowed the audience with a stellar mash-up performance of “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus and “Little Talks” by Mumford and Sons, as well as “Who Knew” by Pink and

“Daylight” by Matt and Kim.

 The next group to perform was The Garnet Minstrelles, an all-female group from Union College. They gave excellent performances of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” and B*Witched’s “C’est La Vie.”

Then Oy Cappella took the stage. They are a co-ed Jewish a cappella group from Syracuse University. Oy Cappella delighted audiences with their versions of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down” and Ellie Goulding’s “Burn.”

At this point the Dischords came back on for a number performed by their newest members, the “Newbie Song.” The song was sung to the tune of Beyonc?e’s “Drunk in Love,” but the lyrics were changed so they described different characteristics of the Dischords’ members. It was a very funny tune that illustrated the sense of friendship and community among the Dischords.

The next group to perform was Think Outside the Voicebox from Skaneateles High School. This group was founded by one of the Colgate Dischords’ members when she was a student at Skaneateles High School. They not only had the vocal talent to keep up with the college groups, but also performed choreography with their musical numbers. They performed “Too Close” by Alex Clare and “Animal” by Neon Trees.

 The last group to show their talent was Pitches Be Crazy from State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland, who delighted the audience with their take on “Royals” by Lorde and “Just a Kiss” by Lady Antebellum.

 The show was finished off with another set by the Dischords, including the hit songs “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink and Nate Ruess, “Fix You” by Coldplay and “Counting Stars” by One Republic. All of the

musical groups gave excellent performances.

 “I thought it was really cool that the Dischords brought in other a cappella groups for their spring concert,” sophomore Jessica Friedberg said. “I loved hearing all of the different groups perform, especially the high school group from Skaneateles. They were fantastic.”

 The concert was well attended by students and parents, who delighted in the opportunity to hear great a cappella music. It was a great success and a wonderful last concert for our seniors.